TOSHIBA SELECTS GIGAPHOTON'S MOST ADVANCED EXCIMER LASER, THE GT61A, FOR HIGH-VOLUME PRODUCTION OF NAND FLASH MEMORY DEVICES

Leading-Edge Laser Light Source to be Used for Immersion Lithography at Chipmaker's Yokkaichi Fab

OYAMA, Japan, December 3, 2007 -  Gigaphoton Inc., a major lithography light source manufacturer for the global semiconductor industry, today announced that its latest ArF excimer laser light source for immersion lithography, the GT61A, has been installed at Toshiba’s Yokkaichi, Japan fab for use in high-volume production of NAND flash memory devices.

In advanced semiconductor lithography processes, dry ArF lithography has served as the mainstream solution for volume production—although immersion ArF lithography is fast emerging as a viable solution in addressing the requirements associated with continuously shrinking circuit patterns.  For an ArF excimer laser to be used as an immersion lithography light source, however, it must be able to deliver a high level of output power and stable spectrum performance in order to maximize throughput.  Renowned for its leading-edge technologies in achieving these performance demands, along with its superior support capabilities, Gigaphoton was selected by Toshiba as the excimer laser supplier of choice for their mass-production lithography applications.  To this end, the company cites GT61A’s ability to deliver the highest spectrum stability as a critical factor in their selection criteria.

Commenting on the GT61A’s installation at Toshiba’s mass-production plant, Gigaphoton President Dr. Yuji Watanabe noted, “We are very proud that our ArF excimer laser light source has been selected by Toshiba for its immersion lithography applications.  We believe that this is a result of our ability to deliver this leading-edge light source in a timely manner, coupled with its proven performance, which includes high reliability and stability.  We continue to see more and more customers turn to our excimer laser solutions for their immersion lithography needs given our demonstrated ability to deliver superior products, advanced performance and around the clock support, all of which ultimately enhance overall productivity.”

The GT61A is the latest ArF excimer laser product to leverage injection-locking technology to enable the finer spectrums and high output power needed to meet the rigorous requirements associated with leading-edge immersion tools with numerical apertures (NA) greater than 1.30.  It delivers output power of 60 watts at the emission wavelength of 193 nm and repetition rate of 6,000 Hz.

The GT61A, the third-generation model within the GT family, relies on the same injection-locking platform used by its workhorse predecessors, the GT40A and GT60A.  In addition to the same high output and high repetition rate (6,000 Hz) achieved by the GT60A, the GT61A delivers a 30 percent improvement in spectral bandwidth (E95%).  Moreover, the GT61A also offers improved laser chamber life, thereby, enabling a significant reduction in down time and maintenance costs.

About Gigaphoton
Gigaphoton Inc. was founded in 2000 as a joint venture of Komatsu Ltd., the world’s No. 2 construction machinery manufacturer, and Ushio Inc., the world’s No. 1 lithography lamp manufacturer. Since then, Gigaphoton has been developing and marketing user-friendly, highly innovative laser light sources that make a great contribution to lithography technology so as to meet the stringent requirements of the ultra-fine circuit patterns of the gigabit era, and is delivering them to major lithography tool suppliers in the global semiconductor industry. As one of the world’s leading excimer laser light source manufacturers, Gigaphoton holds a strong position in the Asian market, including Japan, while also continuing to enjoy rapid growth in the U.S. and European markets. More information about Gigaphoton can be found on the company’s website at http://www.gigaphoton.com

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The company name, logo, and designations GT40A, GT60A and GT61A are trademarks of Gigaphoton, Inc. The content of this release may be revised without prior notice. Gigaphoton shall not be liable for updating or announcing a correction if the content of this release is changed for any reason in the future. 
©2007 Gigaphoton.

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