Japan’s Canon has been investing in nano-imprint lithography (NIL), a new chip-making technology, and plans to make inroads in the lithography field by setting the price of its new chip-making equipment at a fraction of the price of ASML’s best lithography machines.
Nanoimprint technology is a low-cost alternative to extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) technology. Fujio Mitarai, Canon’s chief executive, said the company’s latest nanoimprint technology will open the way for small chipmakers to produce advanced chips.
“This product will cost single digits less than Asmac’s EUV,” said Fujio Mitarai, 88. This is his third term as Canon’s president, having last stepped away from day-to-day operations in 2016. Fujio Midori added that final pricing has not yet been finalized.
Feldhoven, Netherlands-based ASML is the sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography. EUV lithography is the world’s most advanced chip-making machine, worth hundreds of millions of dollars each. The product of decades of extensive research and investment, such equipment is critical to mass-producing advanced chips that are fast and consume little energy.
But only a handful of cash-rich companies can afford to buy extreme ultraviolet lithography. That gives hope to Canon’s latest offering of nanoimprint chip-making equipment.
Canon shares are up 27% since the start of the year, and its rival Nikon Corp. is up 24%.
Canon has been working on nanoimprinting technology for nearly a decade with Japanese printing conglomerate Dai Nippon Printing Co. and memory chip maker Kioxia Holdings Corp. Unlike extreme ultraviolet lithography, which works by reflecting light, the nanoimprinting technology studied by Canon prints circuit patterns directly onto wafers, resulting in chips with geometries that are said to be comparable to those of state-of-the-art nodes, but at much slower speeds.
The new equipment is expected to allow chipmakers to reduce their dependence on chip foundries, as well as make it more likely that chip foundries such as TSMC and Samsung Electronics will be able to mass-produce chips. Canon said the machine requires only one-tenth the power of its EUV counterpart.
“I don’t think nanoimprinting technology will replace EUV, but I do believe it will create new opportunities and demand,” said Fujio Mikado. “We have already received many inquiries from customers.”
Canon, which had previously focused on making regular chips, began investing heavily in nanoimprinting technology in 2014 with the acquisition of Molecular Imprints Inc. which specializes in nanoimprinting technology. As one of TSMC’s suppliers, Canon is building its first new photolithography facility in 20 years in Utsunomiya City, north of Tokyo, which is due to start production in 2025.
Fujio Mitarai has been Canon’s president for nearly 18 years, and has served as Canon’s chief executive officer since 2006. Born in 1935, he is widely credited with rescuing Canon from operational difficulties when he first took the helm in 1995.
Canon recently appointed a group of new directors to join the board next year, including Canon U.S. CEO Kazuto Ogawa, 65; industrial group president Hiroaki Takei, 59; and senior executive Minoru Asada, 61, marking the rise of a new group of executives.
“It is my responsibility to find a successor,” said Fujio Mikado. He declined to comment on detailed information about the timing of his stepping down, potential candidates and the company’s level of aggressiveness in finding a new chief executive.
“I want this to be a complete surprise,” he said. “Our employees will learn about it first, and then others will hear about it through the press conference.”
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