Photomask film is a key component in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography process, which refers to the unfolding of a thin film on the photomask on which the machine then draws the circuit to be embossed on the wafer to avoid contamination of the photomask by airborne fine dust or volatile gases and to reduce damage to the photomask. At present, the photomask film suppliers are mainly Dutch ASML, Japanese Mitsui Chemical and Korean S&S Tech, and Korean EUV film has been monopolized by external manufacturers.
As a major foundry, Samsung announced in 2021 that it had developed its own EUV film with 88% light transmission, and earlier this year developed its own EUV film with 88% light transmission.
But Samsung is not satisfied with this, because there are also EUV films with 90% or more light transmissions in the market, one is ASML and the other is S&S Tech.
A recent job announcement by Samsung Semiconductor shows that it is pushing to develop EUV films with 92% light transmission, while Samsung will also work with external organizations to develop and evaluate EUV films made from carbon nanotubes and graphene.
Samsung’s old rival in the wafer foundry field, TSMC, has been using its own developed EUV films since 2019 and announced in 2021 that its EUV film production capacity will increase 20 times compared to 2019.
Some industry insiders say that Samsung is promoting the development of EUV films in order to catch up with TSMC faster.
