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ASML announced the TWINSCAN AT:1100 on July 9, 2001, describing it as its first high-productivity 193-nm argon-fluoride (ArF) scanner designed for 300-mm production. A dual-stage system and a 0.75-NA Carl Zeiss lens supported its 100-nm-generation target. ASML initially planned deliveries for late 2001, then shifted its expected shipments to early 2002 as it consolidated its 193-nm roadmap around the AT:1100.
What was the TWINSCAN AT:1100?
The AT:1100 was a wafer lithography scanner: a fab tool that projects a circuit pattern onto photoresist-coated silicon wafers. It was built around 193-nm ArF exposure and designed for 300-mm wafers, the larger format used by production fabs. ASML presented it as a 100-nm-resolution system for volume manufacturing, targeting microprocessors with more than 75 million transistors.
It was a dry ArF scanner, not an immersion-lithography or EUV machine. The 193-nm figure identifies the exposure light’s wavelength; it does not describe the chip’s feature size. ASML’s July 2000 TWINSCAN platform announcement had already outlined a platform for 200-mm or 300-mm wafers, with optics options for i-line, 248 nm, 193 nm, and 157 nm. The AT:1100 was the platform’s 193-nm production-oriented system.
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A conventional single-stage sequence must finish positioning and alignment before exposure can proceed. TWINSCAN used two wafer stages so the scanner could expose one wafer while aligning the next. That overlap reduced time spent on non-exposure work between wafers, helping the tool maintain a productive patterning cycle.
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Dual-stage operation describes the scanner’s handling and sequencing of wafers; it does not mean two wafers were exposed simultaneously. The system’s productivity depended on coordinating the stages with the optical exposure process.
What specifications were reported for the AT:1100?
| Measure | Reported value | Attribution and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure wavelength | 193 nm ArF | ASML’s July 2001 announcement and February 2002 description |
| Target generation | 100 nm resolution / technology node | ASML described the system as a 100-nm system for volume manufacturing |
| Numerical aperture | 0.75 | ASML specifications reported in 2001; confirmed in ASML’s 2002 description |
| Lens | Carl Zeiss Starlith 1100 | ASML identified this 0.75-NA lens in February 2002 |
| Throughput | 93 wafers per hour | EE Times reported this as an ASML specification in September 2001 |
| Overlay | Less than 20 nm across the wafer | EE Times reported this as an ASML specification at full throughput in September 2001 |
Throughput and overlay are related but different measures: throughput counts wafers processed per hour, while overlay describes how accurately a new pattern aligns with existing wafer layers. The sub-20-nm overlay figure was specifically reported at full throughput, not as a separate low-speed best-case result.
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Why did 193-nm exposure matter for 100-nm chips?
In optical lithography, a shorter exposure wavelength helps project finer patterns, making 193-nm light useful as chipmakers moved beyond what earlier 248-nm systems could readily support. The AT:1100 paired that wavelength with a 0.75-NA lens and the stage architecture intended to make the process practical for high-volume 300-mm manufacturing. The 100-nm target refers to the generation ASML associated with the tool, not a claim that every feature on every chip measured exactly 100 nm.
When did ASML announce the AT:1100 and plan shipments?
- July 10, 2000: ASML introduced the TWINSCAN 300-mm platform, which could also process 200-mm wafers and support several exposure wavelengths.
- July 9, 2001: ASML announced the AT:1100 as a high-productivity dual-stage 193-nm scanner for 300-mm wafer processing and said deliveries would begin in the fourth quarter of 2001.
- September 7, 2001: EE Times reported the 0.75-NA lens, 93-wafers-per-hour throughput, and less-than-20-nm overlay specification.
- November 27, 2001: ASML said it would converge its 193-nm offering on the AT:1100, discontinue development and shipment of Micrascan V, and expected AT:1100 shipments in early 2002.
- February 21, 2002: ASML and Carl Zeiss SMT confirmed availability of the 193-nm imaging system and identified the Starlith 1100 optics in the 300-mm volume-manufacturing system.
The late-2001 delivery target was therefore an initial plan, not the final expected shipment timing stated in the subsequent roadmap announcement. ASML’s later statement placed expected shipments in early 2002.
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Who supplied the optics, and how did ASML position the tool?
Carl Zeiss SMT supplied the Starlith 1100 projection lens. ASML described the lens as 0.75 NA and confirmed the partnership when it announced 193-nm imaging-system availability in February 2002. In November 2001, ASML said it would concentrate its 193-nm product offering on the TWINSCAN AT:1100 rather than continue developing and shipping Micrascan V.
Contemporaneous EE Times coverage named Canon and Nikon as other suppliers of 193-nm scanners. That context establishes that ASML was entering an existing supplier field; it does not, by itself, support a performance comparison among the companies’ systems.
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