Japan’s first semiconductor lithography system is 50

Canon is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the launch in 1970 of the PPC-11¹, Japan’s first semiconductor lithography system, which signalled the company’s full-scale entry into the semiconductor lithography equipment business.

Source: Canon. The PPC-1.

Semiconductor lithography systems are indispensable for the fabrication of semiconductor devices used in such devices as cameras, smartphones and automobiles.

Utilising technology originally developed for camera lenses during the mid-1960’s, Canon developed high-resolution lenses for photomask manufacturing. The company then began developing semiconductor lithography equipment for wafer fabrication, and in 1970, entered the business with the introduction of the PPC-1, Japan’s first domestically-produced semiconductor lithography system.

Canon later released the FPA-141F in 1975, the world’s first lithography system to achieve resolution more precise than 1 micron² in resolution. In 2010, the FPA-141F was recognised by the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology as an Essential Historical Material for Science and Technology.

The current Canon semiconductor lithography equipment portfolio includes i-line³ and KrF lithography systems⁴ to meet an expanding range of applications and market demands. Canon continues to expand its lineup of semiconductor lithography equipment and optional functions with the aim of supporting various wafer sizes and materials and next-generation packaging⁵ process requirements. Canon also offers leading-edge such lithography solutions as the in-development nanoimprint lithography equipment⁶ which enables cost-effective circuit pattern miniaturisation for mass production processes.

Since 1986, Canon has also leveraged its semiconductor lithography technology in the development, manufacturing and sale of equipment used in the production of flat-panel displays on large-area substrates. Going forward, the company will continue to pursue both higher-resolution and productivity for Canon flat-panel display lithography systems in order to meet the needs of LCD and OLED display manufacturing.

1 PPC stands for 'projection print camera'. When it was released, the PPC-1 was referred to as a semiconductor printing device, not an exposure device.

² A semiconductor exposure system using a mercury lamp light source for i-line wavelength (365 nm) exposure. One nanometre (nm) is one-billionth of a metre.

³ A semiconductor exposure system using laser light generated from krypton (Kr) gas and fluorine (F) gas for KrF wavelength (248 nm) exposure.

⁴ The common name for the SI unit micrometre. One micrometre is one-millionth of a metre.

⁵ Packaging protects delicate integrated circuit (IC) chips from the external environment while enabling electrical connections and communication with external chips and devices

⁶ Nanoimprint lithography involves pressing a mask (mould) directly into the resist on a wafer like a stamp. Circuit patterns including freeform structures on the mask can be precisely transferred with higher resolution in comparison to conventional optical lithography equipment.