Semiconductor manufacturing equipment is essential for producing more advanced chips and for other continuous improvements resulting in progress along the lines that Goron Moore predicted more than 50 years ago. The Netherlands is a large player in the world s advanced material processing, in lithography, in process instrumentation, and in mechatronics. This strategic programme connects academic knowledge institutes with the semiconductor industry in the innovation phase of new technologies in order to consolidate the semicon roadmap and Moore’s law for the future. This industrial sector has great economic weight in the Netherlands. This particular strategic programme focusses on mechatronics and on the physics of essential aspects of the technology.

Programme duration: 4 years | 2024 - 2027

Problem statement

Developments in the semicon industry has resulted in industrial laboratories in which large teams combining many competences develop and improve complex systems. Besides system innovations, attention must be given to innovations on subsystem level as well a attention to breakthroughs made within the fundamental disciplines. Knowledge institutions have come together in this program to realize such breakthroughs.

Objective

The aim of the programe semiconductor manufacturing equipment is the generation of innovations based on progress made within certain academic competences in order to facilitate industrial roadmaps with the semicon industry for the coming decades.

Approach

The programme consists of individual projects supported by and inspired by industries such as ASM, ASML. Schunk Xycarb, and ZEISS. Projects aim at deepening competence levels, as well as innovations geared towards the participating industries and the society. The programme is transparent towards society and the research results are published. Projects deal with competence growth as well searching for innovation solutions. Projects can be experimental as well as theoretical, modelling. To ensure that the innovation power is used optimally, projects have a certain measure of flexibility.

Submitters

The submitters in this programme are specialized research groups in physics, material science, and mechatronics distributed over many knowledge institutes. Groups originate from TUE (plasma physics, mechatronics), UTwente (physics, materials), ULeiden (physics and in particular surface physics), TUDelft  physics, (imaging metrology and surface processes), UGroningen( material science), ARCNL (physics, metrology, plasma physics), and TNO (physics, plasma’s, surface processes).

Relation with urgent transitions, KIAs and technologies

This programme is intertwined with digitalisation and smart industry. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment industry is probably leading innovation -driven industries. In  the knowledge –  and innovation-agenda’s (KIA 2024-2027)  this programme is coupled toKIA ket technologies and KIA digitization. The effect should not be underestimated of developments of the programme semiconductor manufacturing equipment technology on the central mission of the Energy transition. The exponential growing demand for data and data analysis for AI is coupled to an exponential demand for energy: the technology roadmap for energy use of semicon devices becomes essential.

On a more detailed level, the equipment industry within the semiconductor ecosystem drives 3 prioritized Key technologies within the National Technology Strategy (NTS 2023): ‘imaging technology’, ‘mechatronics and optomechatronics’ , and ’optical systems and integrated photonics’.