Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BERNGEN (Bespoke Resists for Next Generation Nanofabrication)
Reporting period: 2020-12-01 to 2022-05-31
The project has focused on developing resists for nanolithography. Nanolithography is the process used to fabricate the components in all advanced electronic devices from mobile phones to laptop computers. The global semiconductor industry was $452 billion in 2020. Predicted to grow to $803 billion by 2028. The resist market was $7.4 billion in 2020 and will grow at the same rate as the overall industry. Our plan in BERNGEN was to interact closely with end users to develop bespoke resists, using specifications given by the end user against a modular design developed already within our research group. This approach proved difficult during the pandemic and most conferences were either cancelled or moved on-line. Personal interactions were therefore more limited. We therefore focused on developing new high end resists and have developed, in collaboration with our industrial partners Sci-Tron Limited, a new dual resist capable of working by electron beam and 365 nm photolithography, and also a new EUV resist capable of working at 13.5 nm. Both projects have been successful and discussions are ongoing to commercialise the EUV resist. The detail of the results are therefore confidential at this moment. Our aim is to develop a new material that captures a significant proportion of the EUV resist market. The EUV lithography market is presently growing at at 26% a year.