More Moore Project Leads to Innovation in EUV Lithography Technology.

VELDHOVEN, the Netherlands -- More Moore, a research project funded by the European Commission to support the development of Extreme Ultra Violet Lithography (EUVL) in Europe, announces a significant breakthrough by one of the participants in the project, XTREME technologies.

Germany's XTREME technologies GmbH has improved the power output of the EUV light source even beyond the original target of the More Moore project, to 800 watt in a proof-of-principle experiment from about 120 watt at the start of the project. For EUVL to be sufficiently robust for volume production, the power output must reach approximately 1 kilowatt by around 2010, when EUV technology is expected to be used in the volume production of semiconductors.

The Commission, as part of the Information Society Technologies initiative covered by the sixth Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development, has provided More Moore with a grant of EUR 23.25 million. The 36-month project began in early 2004 and is led by ASML Holding NV of the Netherlands. The aim of the More Moore project, working through its component companies and institutions, is to resolve technical problems of EUVL so the technology can timely be introduced for volume production.

EUVL will be the next generation technology used by the semiconductor industry to manufacture integrated circuits, with ever-smaller features. Smaller features - starting at 32 nm instead of the 65 nm common today -- allow chipmakers to fit more transistors on each chip, increasing its power. Transition to EUVL technology will enable the continuation of increased number of transistors per square mm consistent with Moore's law, which predicts the computing power of semiconductors should double roughly every two years.

Microchips are produced with optical lithography by projecting light through a mask onto the surface of a silicon wafer that is covered by a photosensitive layer. The small structures on the mask are etched onto the silicon, creating the features of the semiconductor. EUV requires the use of a new plasma light source that is heated to 300,000 degrees Celsius.

"This power scaling is the most significant achievement so far and we credit our participation in More Moore for helping us reach this important milestone," says XTREME technologies' Christian Ziener.

"We are delighted to see the developments of XTREME technologies and the other project members. This breakthrough, which also marks the half-way point in a three-year project, has outperformed our expectations and are close to the power specifications for the term of the project," said Rob Hartman, leader of the More Moore project.

About More Moore

The More Moore project involves large and small companies from around Europe, including ASML, Phystex, Zeiss, AMTC, Philips EUV, XTREME technologies, Focus, SIGMA-C, AZ Electronic Materials, Schott Lithotec, Philips, XENOCS, Sagem Defense Securite, Imagine Optic, EPPRA and Media Lario. Academic and research institutions participating in More Moore include and IMEC, CEA Leti, CNRS, TNO, FOM Rijnhuizen, Fraunhofer Institute, ISAN (Russian Institute of Science), ENEA, ELETTRA, and NCSR as well as universities of Bielefeld, Mainz and Delft. All members are highly specialised in the key areas of EUVL and work under the coordination ASML, the leading producer of lithography equipment used for semiconductor manufacture. For more information on the consortium, please visit our website: https://www.euvlitho.net/MoreMoore.

About XTREME technologies

XTREME technologies GmbH was founded in March 2001 as a joint venture between Lambda Physik AG of Gottingen, and JENOPTIK AG`s subsidiary JENOPTIK Laser, Optik, Systeme GmbH of Jena, Germany. The shares of Lambda Physik were bought by Ushio Inc of Japan in 2005.