Financial News Agency, November 6 (Editor Ma Lan)Japan's Canon company's breakthrough in nano-imprinting technology is expected to become a challenger to the Dutch ASML, the biggest chip lithography machine. This is particularly worth looking forward to for small semiconductor manufacturers.

Canon CEO Fujio Mitarai recently stated that the price of the company's nanoimprint equipment will be one digit less than ASML's lithography machine, but its final pricing has yet to be determined. At the same time, the power consumption required by Canon machines is only one-tenth of that of lithography machines.

According to previous information, ASML's new flagship lithography machine is worth about 400 million US dollars, nearly 2.7 billion yuan. Its power consumption is likely to soar to 2 million watts, which is double the current rated power consumption of lithography machines.

At TSMC, which has the largest number of lithography machines in the world, 80 lithography machines with a power consumption of 1 million watts have already made TSMC's energy consumption account for 12.5% of Taiwan's. If it introduces a newer next-generation lithography machine, TSMC's power consumption will be even more frightening.

The launch of Canon's new devices will undoubtedly break the situation where a few leading, cash-rich companies monopolize chip manufacturing. Small companies may no longer need foundries to produce chips, which plays an extremely critical role in promoting chip competition.

Irreplaceable, alternative battleground

Mitarai, 88, pointed out that nanoimprinting technology is unlikely to surpass ASML lithography machines, but it will create new opportunities and demand, and many customers have already proposed purchasing intentions.

Nano imprinting is a micro-nano processing technology. It uses the principle of microreplication of traditional mechanical molds and can replace traditional and complex optical lithography technology. Simply put, a chip is made like a stamp, a circuit with a gate length of only a few nanometers is engraved on the seal, then the stamp is covered with plasticine to obtain the opposite pattern from the seal. After removing the mold, a chip can be obtained. The plasticine here refers to nano-imprinting adhesive, and the seal is a template.

For nearly a decade, Canon has been collaborating with Dainippon Printing and memory chip manufacturer Kioxia Holdings to develop nanoimprint technology. Unlike extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) technology, which works through reflected light, nanoimprinting technology imprints the circuit diagram directly onto the wafer, and since it does not use a lens, it is possible to produce fine chips at a lower cost than existing exposure processes.

However, although nanoimprinting can still meet the requirements of the most advanced production processes, it is far inferior to lithography machines in terms of speed. Therefore, ASML lithography machines are still the most advanced chip manufacturing machines in the world today, and are also the preferred equipment for mass production of fast, energy-saving chips.

Canon machines are more like options for small chip manufacturers. At the same time, they can also make it easier for large-scale companies such as TSMC and Samsung Electronics to produce small-batch chips, thereby saving costs.

According to reports, Canon is building its first nano-imprinting equipment factory, which is expected to be launched in 2025. Since the beginning of this year, Canon's stock price has increased by a cumulative total of 27%, while the share price of another competitor, Nikon, has also risen 24%, but the company's lithography equipment competitiveness is far less than ASML.