Angela Lee
Lithography has always been the defining bottleneck of semiconductor progress. Each new node demands more precise light sources, optics, and inspection tools, pushing the limits of physics and engineering. Today, Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography supports the most advanced chips, but sustaining progress will require breakthroughs in power scaling, defect control, and measurement. These advances come with staggering costs, putting them out of reach for most institutions. National laboratories, particularly those with Department of Energy (DOE) accelerator facilities, offer a unique way forward. Erik Hosler, a strategist in advanced lithography development, underscores that breakthroughs in lithography will depend as much on collaborative infrastructure as on new physics. His perspective highlights how shared public investment can accelerate innovation that benefits the entire semiconductor ecosystem.
The case for leveraging national labs is clear. By creating open-access facilities for lithography and inspection R&D, the U.S. can lower barriers for startups, universities, and smaller firms that cannot afford proprietary tools. Just as national labs have driven discoveries in life sciences and materials, they can provide a shared platform for advancing lithography. This approach reduces duplication, fosters collaboration, and ensures that the U.S. maintains leadership in the most challenging frontier of semiconductor manufacturing.
Lithography as the Scaling Bottleneck
Semiconductor progress has long been tied to lithography. Each generation of chips requires shrinking feature sizes, demanding more precise exposure tools. Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) systems carried the industry through decades of scaling, but EUV now defines the cutting edge. EUV scanners are among the most complex machines ever built, requiring light sources operating at hundreds of watts, optics capable of reflecting extreme wavelengths, and defect control systems that operate at atomic scales.
The cost of EUV reflects this complexity. A single scanner can exceed $150 million, while fab-wide integration costs billions. This expense has concentrated EUV capability in only a handful of firms and countries. Looking ahead, even EUV may not suffice. Higher Numerical Aperture (High-NA EUV), free-electron lasers, and alternative architectures are being explored. Each option presents enormous technical and financial barriers, underscoring the need for shared infrastructure.
The Role of National Labs
National laboratories, particularly DOE facilities, house some of the world’s most advanced accelerators, synchrotrons, and free-electron lasers. These tools already produce extreme light sources for applications in physics, chemistry, and biology. Repurposing or expanding these capabilities for lithography R&D offers a cost-effective way to pursue next-generation technologies.
For example, synchrotron radiation facilities could be used to study new resists and materials under extreme light conditions. Free-electron lasers could serve as testbeds for high-power EUV or soft X-ray lithography concepts. National labs also bring together interdisciplinary teams of physicists, engineers, and computer scientists, an ecosystem well-suited to tackling the complex interplay of optics, plasma physics, and materials science inherent in lithography.
By leveraging these facilities, the U.S. could accelerate the development of next-gen lithography tools without leaving the burden solely to private companies. National labs have historically filled this role, from nuclear research to biotechnology. Lithography presents the next frontier for this model.
Open-Access Infrastructure for Innovation
A key advantage of national lab collaborations is open access. Unlike proprietary corporate R&D, national labs can serve as neutral platforms where startups, universities, and established firms test ideas. This open-access model reduces duplication of effort and spreads the benefits of costly infrastructure across a broader community.
The success of synchrotron light sources in advancing materials science offers a clear precedent. Shared access to these facilities enabled discoveries in everything from pharmaceuticals to energy storage. A similar model for lithography could allow researchers to test new resists, optics, and metrology systems without building billion-dollar facilities themselves.
This approach also strengthens workforce development. By giving students and researchers hands-on experience with the latest tools, national labs prepare the next generation of engineers needed to sustain the semiconductor ecosystem. Open access ensures that innovation is not limited to a few corporate labs but is distributed across the research community.
Inspection and Metrology Integration
Lithography does not stand alone. For each advance in exposure tools, equal progress is required in inspection and metrology. Detecting and correcting defects at the nanoscale is critical to yield, and as features shrink, the challenge grows exponentially. National labs could host integrated platforms where both lithography and inspection tools are developed side by side.
Such integration would allow researchers to explore new approaches, from high-resolution electron microscopy to AI-driven defect detection. It would also provide environments where novel resists and materials can be characterized under realistic conditions. By linking lithography and inspection R&D, national labs could accelerate the co-evolution of capabilities that fabs require to remain competitive.
Allied Partnerships and Future Imperatives
No single country can bear the full cost of next-gen lithography alone. Coordinating with allies such as Japan, the Netherlands, and Taiwan will be essential. Shared use of national lab facilities could provide neutral platforms for collaborative R&D while ensuring that trusted partners align their strategies.
Erik Hosler explains, “Light source and metrology capability evolution are inevitably tied together.” His point captures the essence of next-gen lithography. Advances in exposure tools mean little without parallel progress in inspection. Together, they define the pace of scaling. By embedding these capabilities within shared infrastructure at national labs, the U.S. and its allies can ensure that lithography innovation continues even as costs and complexity rise.
Building open-access platforms for lithography and metrology represents more than a technical investment. It is a strategic choice to embed resilience, broaden participation, and secure leadership in the technologies that underpin the global economy.
Scaling Through Shared Infrastructure
Lithography defines the limits of semiconductor scaling, and sustaining progress requires new approaches to both technology and collaboration. EUV has carried the industry to the present frontier, but advancing further will demand breakthroughs that no single company can deliver alone.
National labs, with their accelerators and free-electron lasers, provide a unique foundation for open-access lithography research. By integrating inspection, aligning with allies, and lowering barriers for startups and universities, these facilities can transform the economics of lithography innovation.
Scaling through shared infrastructure ensures that the next generation of lithography and metrology tools emerge not as proprietary silos but as collective assets. In an era where semiconductors define competitiveness, this collaborative model may prove to be the most powerful tool of all.
