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Tsinghua Industrial Complex has made significant progress in the research of new accelerator light source "steady-state micro-bunching" On February 25th,
Professor Tang Chuanxiang’s research group from the Department of Engineering Physics of Tsinghua University and a collaborative team from the Helmholtz Berlin Materials and Energy Research Center (HZB) and the German Federal Institute of Physics and Technology (PTB) published a report in the top journal "Nature" (Nature). ) Published a research paper entitled "Experimental demonstration of the mechanism of steady-state microbunching" (Experimental demonstration of the mechanism of steady-state microbunching), reporting a new type of particle accelerator light source "Steady -State microbunching, SSMB)'s first principle verification experiment.
Based on the SSMB principle, high-power, high-repetition frequency, and narrow-bandwidth coherent radiation can be obtained, and the wavelength can cover the band from terahertz to extreme ultraviolet (EUV), which is expected to provide broad new opportunities for photonic science research. "Nature" a news review article in the same period wrote: "This experiment demonstrates how to combine the characteristics of the existing two types of main accelerator light sources-synchrotron radiation light sources and free electron lasers.
The SSMB light source is expected to be used in EUV lithography and angle-resolved photoelectron energy in the future. Spectroscopy and other fields." Once the paper was published, it immediately attracted great attention from academic and industrial circles at home and abroad. In the experiment, the research team used a laser with a wavelength of 1064 nanometers to manipulate the electron beam in the Berlin MLS storage ring to make the electron beam circle a full circle (with a circumference of 48 meters) to form a fine microstructure, that is, micro-bunch. The micro-bunch will radiate high-intensity narrow-bandwidth coherent light at the laser wavelength and its higher harmonics. The experiment verifies the formation of the micro-bunch by detecting the radiation. The formation of micro-bunch proves that the optical phase of electrons can be correlated circle by circle with a precision shorter than the laser wavelength, so that the electrons can be stably trapped in the optical potential well formed by the laser, which verifies the working mechanism of SSMB.
It is expected to provide a new technical route for EUV lithography light source "One of the potential applications of the SSMB light source is as the light source of the EUV lithography machine in the future. This is an important reason why the international community pays great attention to the SSMB research of Tsinghua University." Tang Chuanxiang told reporters. Lithography is a complex and critical process step in the manufacture of integrated circuit chips, and the lithography machine is an indispensable precision equipment in the chip industry chain. The exposure resolution of a lithography machine is directly related to the wavelength of the light source. For more than half a century, the wavelength of the light source of the lithography machine has been shrinking.
The new generation of mainstream lithography technology recognized by the chip industry is extreme ultraviolet ( EUV) Lithography. The work of EUV lithography machine is equivalent to using extreme ultraviolet light with a wavelength of only one ten thousandth of the diameter of a hair to "engrave" circuits on a wafer. Finally, a chip the size of a fingernail will contain tens of billions of transistors. This equipment process Shows the top level of human technological development. ASML of the Netherlands is currently the world's only supplier of EUV lithography machines. The latest NXE: 3400C is priced at more than 150 million euros per unit. The high-power EUV light source is the core foundation of EUV lithography machine.
The breakthrough of high-power EUV light source is crucial to the further application and development of EUV lithography. Tang Chuanxiang said, “SSMB-based EUV light sources are expected to achieve large average power and have the potential to expand to shorter wavelengths, providing a new solution for the breakthrough of high-power EUV light sources.” This requires continuous scientific and technological research on SSMB EUV light sources. It also needs the cooperation of the upstream and downstream industrial chains to achieve real success. The time is right to tackle key problems, highlighting the pattern of international cooperation The Tsinghua University SSMB team started the theoretical analysis and numerical simulation of the SSMB principle verification experiment in April 2017. On July 21 of that year, Tang Chuanxiang and Zhao Wu organized the first SSMB cooperation meeting in Tsinghua University, and led the establishment of the international SSMB research group. Together with scientific researchers from China, Germany, the United States and other countries, they began to promote various SSMB principle verification experiments. Studies.
After four years of tackling key problems, the SSMB research group has made a number of important progress, leading the world in results. SSMB uses lasers to converge electrons. Compared with microwaves commonly used in synchrotron radiation sources, the wavelength of the converging system is shortened by 5 to 6 orders of magnitude. Therefore, to verify the principle of SSMB, the accelerator needs to have a very high control accuracy for the change of the electron longitudinal position (phase) circle by circle, and the MLS storage ring of PTB in Germany is closest to the experimental requirements of SSMB in this respect. Since 2017, Tsinghua team members have traveled to Berlin eight times to participate in all links from experimental preparation to operation. After a long period of hard work, the experiment was successful on August 18, 2019.
"SSMB involves many physical effects, and the experiment is difficult. The team has experienced many failed attempts. During the experiment, it continued to deepen its understanding of the physical problems and the actual accelerator operation, until the problems were solved one by one. The field experiments could not be carried out. At that time, we did not stop working. We will conduct theoretical analysis on the experimental data collected before, hold regular work meetings, and conduct email or online discussions." said Deng Xiujie, a 2015 PhD student in the Department of Engineering of Tsinghua University who participated in the experiment in Germany. "In addition, the SSMB experimental team is an international cooperation team. From the initial running-in to the gradual familiarity and understanding, and then to getting better, the whole team agreed that we have truly realized '1+1 is greater than 2', and we will further cooperate in the future. Are full of confidence."
Currently, Tsinghua University is actively supporting and promoting the establishment of SSMB EUV light source projects at the national level. The Tsinghua SSMB research team has submitted a project proposal for the "Steady-state Micro-beam Extreme Ultraviolet Light Source Research Device" to the National Development and Reform Commission, and declared it as a major national scientific and technological infrastructure in the "14th Five-Year Plan". Professor Tang Chuanxiang from the Department of Engineering of Tsinghua University and Dr. Jörg Feikes of HZB are the corresponding authors of this article, and Deng Xiujie, a 2015 PhD student in the Department of Engineering of Tsinghua University, is the first author. The research was supported by the independent research project of Tsinghua University.
Tsinghua Industrial Complex has made significant progress in the research of new accelerator light source "steady-state micro-bunching" On February 25th,
Professor Tang Chuanxiang’s research group from the Department of Engineering Physics of Tsinghua University and a collaborative team from the Helmholtz Berlin Materials and Energy Research Center (HZB) and the German Federal Institute of Physics and Technology (PTB) published a report in the top journal "Nature" (Nature). ) Published a research paper entitled "Experimental demonstration of the mechanism of steady-state microbunching" (Experimental demonstration of the mechanism of steady-state microbunching), reporting a new type of particle accelerator light source "Steady -State microbunching, SSMB)'s first principle verification experiment.
Based on the SSMB principle, high-power, high-repetition frequency, and narrow-bandwidth coherent radiation can be obtained, and the wavelength can cover the band from terahertz to extreme ultraviolet (EUV), which is expected to provide broad new opportunities for photonic science research. "Nature" a news review article in the same period wrote: "This experiment demonstrates how to combine the characteristics of the existing two types of main accelerator light sources-synchrotron radiation light sources and free electron lasers.
The SSMB light source is expected to be used in EUV lithography and angle-resolved photoelectron energy in the future. Spectroscopy and other fields." Once the paper was published, it immediately attracted great attention from academic and industrial circles at home and abroad. In the experiment, the research team used a laser with a wavelength of 1064 nanometers to manipulate the electron beam in the Berlin MLS storage ring to make the electron beam circle a full circle (with a circumference of 48 meters) to form a fine microstructure, that is, micro-bunch. The micro-bunch will radiate high-intensity narrow-bandwidth coherent light at the laser wavelength and its higher harmonics. The experiment verifies the formation of the micro-bunch by detecting the radiation. The formation of micro-bunch proves that the optical phase of electrons can be correlated circle by circle with a precision shorter than the laser wavelength, so that the electrons can be stably trapped in the optical potential well formed by the laser, which verifies the working mechanism of SSMB.
It is expected to provide a new technical route for EUV lithography light source "One of the potential applications of the SSMB light source is as the light source of the EUV lithography machine in the future. This is an important reason why the international community pays great attention to the SSMB research of Tsinghua University." Tang Chuanxiang told reporters. Lithography is a complex and critical process step in the manufacture of integrated circuit chips, and the lithography machine is an indispensable precision equipment in the chip industry chain. The exposure resolution of a lithography machine is directly related to the wavelength of the light source. For more than half a century, the wavelength of the light source of the lithography machine has been shrinking.
The new generation of mainstream lithography technology recognized by the chip industry is extreme ultraviolet ( EUV) Lithography. The work of EUV lithography machine is equivalent to using extreme ultraviolet light with a wavelength of only one ten thousandth of the diameter of a hair to "engrave" circuits on a wafer. Finally, a chip the size of a fingernail will contain tens of billions of transistors. This equipment process Shows the top level of human technological development. ASML of the Netherlands is currently the world's only supplier of EUV lithography machines. The latest NXE: 3400C is priced at more than 150 million euros per unit. The high-power EUV light source is the core foundation of EUV lithography machine.
The breakthrough of high-power EUV light source is crucial to the further application and development of EUV lithography. Tang Chuanxiang said, “SSMB-based EUV light sources are expected to achieve large average power and have the potential to expand to shorter wavelengths, providing a new solution for the breakthrough of high-power EUV light sources.” This requires continuous scientific and technological research on SSMB EUV light sources. It also needs the cooperation of the upstream and downstream industrial chains to achieve real success. The time is right to tackle key problems, highlighting the pattern of international cooperation The Tsinghua University SSMB team started the theoretical analysis and numerical simulation of the SSMB principle verification experiment in April 2017. On July 21 of that year, Tang Chuanxiang and Zhao Wu organized the first SSMB cooperation meeting in Tsinghua University, and led the establishment of the international SSMB research group. Together with scientific researchers from China, Germany, the United States and other countries, they began to promote various SSMB principle verification experiments. Studies.
After four years of tackling key problems, the SSMB research group has made a number of important progress, leading the world in results. SSMB uses lasers to converge electrons. Compared with microwaves commonly used in synchrotron radiation sources, the wavelength of the converging system is shortened by 5 to 6 orders of magnitude. Therefore, to verify the principle of SSMB, the accelerator needs to have a very high control accuracy for the change of the electron longitudinal position (phase) circle by circle, and the MLS storage ring of PTB in Germany is closest to the experimental requirements of SSMB in this respect. Since 2017, Tsinghua team members have traveled to Berlin eight times to participate in all links from experimental preparation to operation. After a long period of hard work, the experiment was successful on August 18, 2019.
"SSMB involves many physical effects, and the experiment is difficult. The team has experienced many failed attempts. During the experiment, it continued to deepen its understanding of the physical problems and the actual accelerator operation, until the problems were solved one by one. The field experiments could not be carried out. At that time, we did not stop working. We will conduct theoretical analysis on the experimental data collected before, hold regular work meetings, and conduct email or online discussions." said Deng Xiujie, a 2015 PhD student in the Department of Engineering of Tsinghua University who participated in the experiment in Germany. "In addition, the SSMB experimental team is an international cooperation team. From the initial running-in to the gradual familiarity and understanding, and then to getting better, the whole team agreed that we have truly realized '1+1 is greater than 2', and we will further cooperate in the future. Are full of confidence."
Currently, Tsinghua University is actively supporting and promoting the establishment of SSMB EUV light source projects at the national level. The Tsinghua SSMB research team has submitted a project proposal for the "Steady-state Micro-beam Extreme Ultraviolet Light Source Research Device" to the National Development and Reform Commission, and declared it as a major national scientific and technological infrastructure in the "14th Five-Year Plan". Professor Tang Chuanxiang from the Department of Engineering of Tsinghua University and Dr. Jörg Feikes of HZB are the corresponding authors of this article, and Deng Xiujie, a 2015 PhD student in the Department of Engineering of Tsinghua University, is the first author. The research was supported by the independent research project of Tsinghua University.
It's a greenfield tech, interestingly I heard it's been included in 5 year plan which means premium supports incoming. Most likely they'll build a special synchrotron that utilize the SSMB from beginning. Currently they use a German facility that kind of close to SSMB but not same, which made experiment difficult.
How amusing that the American EDA firms invest in the EDA startups that are started by their employee LOL. Decoupling with American characteristics.
If Chinese Lithography equipment shows promising result, won't be surprised if companies like ASML invest and or form Joint Venture LOL. As long as the capital flows.
Ultimately the so called tech decoupling will resulted in fusion or morphing of Chinese IP into the global Semicon IP. Chinese must work hard to achieve that.
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Sorry a lot of posting
But this tweet claimed that SMEE machine is not production ready or only prototype at the moment. How true is it?
But this tweet claimed that SMEE machine is not production ready or only prototype at the moment. How true is it?
@caudaceus bro it had been debunked, I trust what our esteem members posted here rather than some random twitter, bro here is an article from Tom's hardware a western publication, hope this may help answer your question.
China's 28nm-Capable Chip Fabbing Tool on Track Amid Trade War
By December 06, 2020China gets one step closer for semiconductor self-sufficiency
(Image credit: SMIC)
(SMEE) is reportedly on track to deliver its second-gen deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography scanner by the fourth quarter of 2021, according to a media report. The tool can produce chips using 28 nm process technologies and relies on components produced in China and Japan. Therefore, the tool does not rely on devices made in the USA, which is increasingly important amid the ongoing trade war between China and the U.S that has found the US barring China-based companies from purchasing some types of chip fabrication equipment.
There are a number of fairly competitive producers of semiconductors in China that make chips developed in the country using fabrication technologies designed in Tianxia. But all of these companies use production equipment developed and made in other countries, such as Japan, the Netherlands, and the U.S.
As part of its multi-faceted plan to make its semiconductor industry self-sufficient, China is not only encouraging chip development and local manufacturing, but also supports the fabrication of semiconductor production equipment.
Founded in 2002, SMEE is a highly-integrated developer and manufacturer of semiconductor production equipment (and a provider or support services) that makes a broad range of products that includes scanners and inspection tools. Today, SMEE's most advanced devices are its 600-series scanners that can be used to make chips using 0.28-micron (280 nm), 0.11-micron (110 nm), and 0.09-micron (90 nm) process technologies.
The top-of-the-range SMEE SSA600/20 machine is an immersion deep ultraviolet lithography tool that is equipped with a 193-nm argon fluoride (ArF) laser. Companies like Intel and TSMC started to use immersion DUV lithography back in 2004, so the SSA600/200 can hardly be called a leading-edge piece of equipment.
(Image credit: Shanghai Micro Electronic Equipment )
The successor of the SSA600/20 machine will continue to use an ArF light source, but for considerably thinner process technologies. That upcoming scanner promises to be advanced enough to make chips using a 28nm process technology, according to . Evidently, these scanners could be used for 40 nm-class, as well as 55nm/65nm fabrication processes, which are quite popular for multiple applications. By 2023, SMEE wants to produce machines good enough for a 20 nm node, the report says. The upcoming scanners are said to use certain components made in Japan, but they don't use any ingredients from the USA.
TSMC adopted 28 nm process technology back in 2011 using tools from ASML, so even when SMEE ships its 28 nm-capable scanner in Q4 2011, it will still be more than a decade behind the world's No. 1 supplier of lithography tools. Meanwhile, 28 nm process technology is used rather widely today and will continue to be used for many years to come for chips that do not need FinFET transistors. For example, TV maker Konka Group last month plans to build a $4.5 billion semiconductor industrial park with the local authorities in Nanchang, eastern Jiangxi province. TVs and consumer electronics hardly need leading-edge process technologies, so a 28nm node might be good enough for them. Therefore, SMEE's upcoming DUV tool promises to become an important workhorse for SMEE's customers.
Shanghai Micro Electronic Equipment has been producing scanners for years, so it is likely that it will be able to assemble a significant number of its next-generation scanners to equip an advanced fab. Meanwhile, chipmakers that have already adopted their 28 nm process technologies using scanners from ASML and Nikon will likely have to redesign their nodes to use SMEE's new tools. Therefore, while advanced Chinese scanners are about a year away, it will take quite some time before they will be widely adopted by the local semiconductor industry.
SMEE's next-generation ArF DUV scanner is certainly a step towards China's self-sufficiency in the semiconductor industry. Meanwhile, there is one more critical element that the country yet has to develop in a bid not to depend on technologies from overseas: All advanced electronic design automation (EDA) tools that are crucial for modern chip development come from companies based in the USA. Until Chinese companies can create tools that are competitive with those from Cadence, Mentor Graphics, or Synopsys, all the chips developed in China will be designed using software from the U.S.
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The ex-head of supercomputing center in Jinan say he is shocked. There are still some there living in another world
This is the most obvious sarcastic "oh wha? no way!!" lol
How these people didn't see this coming from 2019 if not earlier has to be beyond me. Is there a chance they are that naive? Perhaps. That's worrying. On the plus side, it aides in removing any naivety in any other Chinese person who is tuned in.
It also means China needs to put more effort and resources in brute forcing its way out of the set backs.
Does anyone understand what blacklisting access to US tech means for these supercomputers? They can't stop from using architecture right? That's like the Indians demanding the world stop using their numerals for maths. I thought the newer Chinese supercomputers have been using Chinese designed and made chips already.
I'm not very familiar with these technical aspects at all though. Perhaps more knowledgeable members can explain for readers the technical consequences and the technical playing field.
How these people didn't see this coming from 2019 if not earlier has to be beyond me. Is there a chance they are that naive? Perhaps. That's worrying. On the plus side, it aides in removing any naivety in any other Chinese person who is tuned in.
It also means China needs to put more effort and resources in brute forcing its way out of the set backs.
Does anyone understand what blacklisting access to US tech means for these supercomputers? They can't stop from using architecture right? That's like the Indians demanding the world stop using their numerals for maths. I thought the newer Chinese supercomputers have been using Chinese designed and made chips already.
I'm not very familiar with these technical aspects at all though. Perhaps more knowledgeable members can explain for readers the technical consequences and the technical playing field.
Well they didn’t do direct product rule so they can turn to SMIC as Taiwan has indicated they will start working with US to cut off sanctioned firms. Means no below 10nm chips for these companies. At the end of the day China is screwed in semiconductors until they develop their own IC fab supply chain, which they seem utterly incapable of doing so.
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