Cymer, Inc. (Nasdaq:CYMI), the world’s leading supplier of light sources used in semiconductor lithography, today announced that a major scanner manufacturer has placed an order for two XLR 600i light sources, the market’s first 90 watt (W) argon fluoride (ArF) laser designed to enable volume immersion and double patterning lithography at the 32nm node and beyond. Marking the industry’s first purchase of a 90W light source, the order follows Cymer’s successful demonstration of the 90W system in April, at the scanner manufacturer’s facility.

Cymer’s XLR series is based on its production-proven, XL dual-chamber ArF platform, which has shipped more than 500 systems to date. The XLR 600i uses Cymer’s Recirculating Ring Technology which extends the lifetime of key modules, resulting in a 20 percent reduction in operating costs and a 1.5X improvement in pulse energy stability that provides the potential for better dose stability and CD control.

“This milestone purchase—the industry’s first for a 90W system—affirms Cymer’s leadership in developing and commercializing technology that enables the highest performance at the lowest operating cost,” said Ed Brown, president and chief operating officer of Cymer. “The XLR platform is quickly becoming the standard for next-generation ArF lithography, as evidenced by the growing adoption of our XLR series by scanner manufacturers and chipmakers.”

Unique to the XLR series, the platform’s extended pulse duration—more than 50 percent greater than any excimer laser in the market—and lower energy density reduces peak pulse power and improves optics lifetime in both the laser and scanner optics. The longer pulse duration is a key enabling technology for operation at 90W, by significantly reducing the impact of higher energy on optics lifetime.

Yet another benefit to customers, Cymer’s Gas Lifetime eXtension (GLX) system is a standard feature of the XLR series and increases scanner availability and throughput. The GLX technology extends gas refill intervals from 100 million pulses to 2 billion pulses. With fewer refills, downtime drops 20-fold, resulting in higher wafer production. The XLR series also offers Advanced Bandwidth Stabilization (ABS) technology, delivering superior bandwidth performance that achieves predictable and repeatable wafer-level process control.