Nikon Completes Shipment of Immersion Scanners to All Major Semiconductor Manufacturing Regions of the World

Nikon Corporation (Michio Kariya, President) has completed the shipment of its NSR-S610C ArF immersion scanners to all of the five major regions of the world where leading edge devices are manufactured. These areas include Japan, Taiwan, Korea, North America, and Europe. Immersion customers include memory and logic manufacturers, and both existing Nikon users as well as newly acquired customers. The NSR-S610C (NA = 1.30), the world's first 45 nm-capable ArF immersion scanner, is targeted for mass production of 45 nm and smaller memory and 32 nm logic devices. The NSR-S610C was selected because of its early market introduction and Nikon's proven ability to print immersion exposures with no immersion-induced defects or overlay matching problems.

"After our immersion success for 56 nm NAND applications, customer interest has been extremely high," said Kazuo Ushida, President of the Nikon Precision Equipment Company. "As a result, we were able to capitalize on opportunities at existing customers, as well as gain several new customers in 2007. The proliferation of the NSR-S610C is further evidence of our leadership in immersion technology."

The NSR-S610C builds on Nikon's immersion expertise. Proprietary Nikon Local Fill Technology is proven to eliminate scanner-induced immersion defects with no bubbles, water spots, or backside wafer contamination. This technology also eliminates evaporation of the immersion fluid, providing a critical advantage in preventing immersion related overlay problems. Nikon's Tandem Stage utilizes two stages with different functions to increase throughput, improve accuracy, and enhance long-term stability.

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