Among these companies that can manufacture machines, the technology of the Netherlands (ASML) is the most advanced. The price is also the highest. Mask aligner's technical threshold is extremely high, which is the product of human wisdom.

At present, among the high-end mask aligner markets below 45nm in the world, the Dutch ASML has a market share of more than 80%, and at present, ASML is the only supplier in the world that can reach the mask aligner with the accuracy of 7nm, so it is not too much for ASML to be the real super hegemon in the global chip industry.

main performance index

The main performance indexes of mask aligner are: supporting the size range of the substrate, resolution, alignment accuracy, exposure mode, light source wavelength, light intensity uniformity, production efficiency, etc.

Resolution is a description of the precision of the thinnest line that can be achieved by photolithography. The resolution of lithography is limited by the diffraction of light source, so it is limited by light source, lithography system, photoresist and process.

Alignment accuracy is the positioning accuracy of interlayer patterns during multilayer exposure.

Exposure methods are divided into contact proximity, projection and direct writing.

The wavelength of exposure light sources is divided into ultraviolet, deep ultraviolet and extreme ultraviolet regions, and the light sources include mercury lamps and excimer lasers.