At the first-ever Nanoimprint and Nanoprint Technology Conference (NTT) in San Francisco next week, a collection of small but ambitious "nano-imprint" lithography startups will gather and throw down the gauntlet in the NGL race. The conference runs Dec. 11-13.

Among the little-known pioneers in the business are EV Group, Molecular Imprints Inc. (MII), Nanonex, Obducat, and others. This week, MII of Austin, Tex. rolled out its first product in the arena, while Sweden's Obducat AB announced a major order in Japan. Obducat also claims to have a tool installation at a major U.S. chip maker, which will move into production with the gear in late 2003.

"Nano-imprint" tools are not conventional optical photolithography scanners, but rather these systems are specialized "electron-beam replicators" that utilize ultraviolet (UV) and liquid emersion technologies to "imprint" patterns on a wafer. Some vendors claim "nano-imprint" tools can process chips down to 10-nm (0.01-micron)--at a lower cost than conventional optical scanners and NGL technologies.

These tools are said to sell for less than $2 million per unit. In contrast, today's cutting-edge 193-nm tools sell from $10-to-$20 million per tool, while an EUV machine is expected to cost a staggering $40-to-$50 million--each, according to analysts.

Cost factors have turned "nano-imprint" lithography from a niche-oriented curiosity to a serious NGL contender, said Patrik Lundstrom, CEO of Malmo-based Obducat. "Maybe nano-imprint lithography was a niche a year ago, but it has become more than just a niche right now," Lundstrom told SBN.

"The industry is looking for cost-effective alternatives like nano-imprint lithography," he said. "I don't believe EUV will be widely accepted, because of cost. I also don't believe EPL will be successful," he said, referring to electron-projection lithography.

In response, the EUV camp remains skeptical about "nano-imprint" lithography. "It's an interesting technology and it bears watching," said John Cossins, EUV product manager for ASML Holding NV, the Dutch-based lithography giant.

"The technology has a lot of big hurdles to overcome," Cossins said. "I have not seen a good story about overlay from the technology. There are other issues like etch."

So is "nano-imprint" a serious NGL contender? "That's a stretch," he told SBN.

NGL is still a race

At present, however, there are still no clear winners in the NGL race. EUV, EPL, and even conventional 157-nm optical tools are among the leading NGL candidates. ASML, Canon, and Nikon are developing EUV tools. Meanwhile, Nikon is backing EPL as well.

Now, "nano-imprint" wants to be contender. One of the latest vendors out of the gate is startup MII, which this week formally unveiled its first product.

As previously reported,, MII rolled out what the company calls a "step and flash imprint lithography" (S-FIL) tool for use in processing a range of emerging devices at the 100-nm (0.10-micron) node and below. The company also claims that it has demonstrated the ability to process devices at linewidth geometries down to 20-nm (0.02-micron). The tool is geared for compound semiconductors, MEMS, and related devices (see Dec. 2 story ).

MII's initial tool will not be designed to process mainstream silicon-based ICs, but rather it is aimed for the "nanotechnology" field, said Norman Schumaker, president and CEO of MII.

The company--which will ship its first tool next month--is expected to sell its system for about $2 million per unit. "Everyone is looking at alternatives to optical lithography for use in processing nanotechnology-like devices because of costs," he told SBN.

Also this week, Obducat-- the earlier leader in the "nano-imprint" lithography field-- announced a major tool order with Japan's Dai Nippon Printing Co. Ltd. With the tool, Dai Nippon will work in conjunction on an undisclosed project with Japan's Optoelectronic Industry and Technology Development Association (OITDA).

Designed to develop Japan's optoelectronics industry, the OITDA consortium includes 178 companies, such Oki, Sumitomo, Toshiba, Nippon Sheet Glass, NEC, NTT, Hitachi, Fujikura, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, among others.

Obducat's tools are modular systems said to process devices down to 10-nm. It supports imprint, non-imprint, and hot-embossing lithography applications, according to Lundstrom.

To date, Obducat has shipped 20 "nano-imprint" tools in the field, including an undisclosed, major U.S. semiconductor maker, Lundstrom said. Its tools are also geared for hard drive, DVD and related markets.