Cymer delivers EUV light source, first tool from ASML Holding in 2010   After several years of development, Cymer Inc. (CYMI) shipped the first fully integrated laser-produced plasma (LPP) Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography source to ASML Holdings NV (ASML). This is a major breakthrough in semiconductor design tools, with wide implications for semiconductor manufacturing over the next decade.   UV light is basically electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength shorter than that of visible light and longer than that of x-rays. These light sources are of particular importance in excimer lasers used for semiconductor manufacturing, where light passes through a photomask to imprint patterns therein onto a photoresist-coated silicon wafer.   An LPP EUV light source currently produces light at 13.5nm wavelength, which is 15x shorter than existing technologies. In an LPP EUV source, microscopic droplets of molten tin are fired through a vacuum chamber and individually tracked ...

Semi equipment book-to-bill continues trend of improvement North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $253 million in orders in April 2009 (on a three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.65 according to the April 2009 Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 0.65 means that $65 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.The three-month average of worldwide bookings in April 2009 was $253 million. The bookings figure is three percent greater than the final March 2009 level of $245.6 million, and about 77 percent less than the $1.09 billion in orders posted in April 2008.The three-month average of worldwide billings in April 2009 was $389.9 million. The billings figure is 11 percent less than the final March 2009 level of $438.3 million, and about 71 percent less than the April 2008 billings ...