EUV now faces practical problems

Though many analysts believe that supporters of extreme-ultraviolet lithography have reached critical mass in their efforts to make it the next generation chip technology, there are still a number of important challenges that must be met before it shows up in fabs. Japanese lithographers have not yet joined the coalition that includes AMD, Infineon Technologies, Intel, Micron Technology and Motorola. Also, US lawmakers have expressed concerns over the potential purchase of the US-based Silicon Valley Group Lithography, a maker of high quality lenses used for both intelligence gathering and the EUV process, by a non-US company. On top of that, there is what Intel Corp. CEO Craig Barrett calls, "six zillion engineering challenges,"

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