An associate of the ZEISS SMT works on a EUV system
Semiconductor Manufacturing Optics (SMO)

Semiconductor Manufacturing Optics

Optical systems for the light of the future

No lithography without optics. No semiconductors without lithography. Without semiconductors there would be no microchips, without microchips no computers – no high-tech products. As an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) supplier, ZEISS enables the semiconductor industry worldwide with optics and other optical modules.

  • For optical precision in semiconductor manufacturing
  • Giving our customers a technological advantage
  • For the technology of the future
  • Insights into laser optics from ZEISS SMT

    Lithography optics Optical precision for semiconductor manufacturing

    Thanks to ZEISS lithography optics (no sales in Germany) chip fabs around the globe can expose their wafers with nanometer precision – laying the foundation for the production of extremely powerful microchips. The quality and form of the illumination system and the resolving power of the projection optics from ZEISS also determine how small the structures on a microchip can be.

    Technologies

    • Deep Ultraviolet Light (DUV light)
    • Extreme Ultraviolet Light (EUV light)
    • Mirrorblocks
  • ZEISS SMT employee works on optics systems

    Optics Modules

    Optical components and modules

    High-quality optical components and modules (no sales in Germany) for lithography lasers and special microscope lenses for wafer inspection: this is how ZEISS, as an OEM supplier (Original Equipment Manufacturer), enables its long-standing partners in the semiconductor industry.

    Technologies

    • Laser components and modules
    • Optics and modules for wafer inspection
  • An employee of ZEISS SMT cleans synchrotron optics

    Synchrotron Optics

    Brilliant optics for research

    ZEISS has been equipping research institutes worldwide with precise synchrotron optics and X-ray gratings for over 30 years. For structural analysis and use in monochromators.

    Technologies

    • Synchrotron Optics
    • X-ray grating

Figures, data, facts

  • 2020

    German Future Prize for highly innovative EUV technology

  • >50

    Years of development experience for lithography optics

  • 1.35

    Numerical aperture of the best-selling immersion lens Starlith® 1900i

  • >2,000

    New high-tech jobs at ZEISS SMT since the start of EUV development in 1995

Optics Modules

Optical components and modules

Employee works on an optics system from ZEISS SMT

Laser components and modules

DUV lithography lasers operate at high light intensities and very short wavelengths of 193 and 248 nanometers. The portfolio of ZEISS SMT includes calcium fluoride components, measurement modules (metrology modules) for excimer lasers and modules for bandwidth reduction.

Employee works on an optics system from ZEISS SMT

Optics and components for wafer inspection

As microchips become smaller, more compact and thus more complex, the demands on quality and defect control also increase.    ZEISS manufactures optics for special microscopes for automatic optical wafer inspection and process monitoring (no sales in Germany).

Man sitting at the kitchen table reading ZEISS SMT publications on his tablet

Publications & Lectures

Insight into our research

We regularly publish technical articles and lectures on our research and development.

Anything is imaginable – a lot is possible

ZEISS enables the semiconductor industry worldwide with high-performance optics. In doing so, we are able to offer optical components of the highest quality using high-performance as well as high-precision measuring and manufacturing techniques. ZEISS SMT is constantly working to push the boundaries of what is physically possible: Giving our customers a technological advantage. For the technology of the future.
Feel free to contact our experts.