FST Expands CNT Pellicle Capacity With Additional Canatu Reactor - The Elec Inc.

FINE SEMITECH (FST) is expanding its production capacity for carbon nanotube (CNT) membranes used in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pellicles by incorporating equipment from Finnish CNT specialist Canatu. FST recently ordered a CNT100 SEMI reactor from Canatu, following an earlier order for long-lead-time components. The equipment delivery is scheduled for 2027, with the combined contract value exceeding €5 million, excluding future royalties and consumables for Canatu.

In September 2024, Canatu shipped a CNT100 SEMI reactor and post-processing equipment to FST, which was installed and passed site acceptance testing in July last year. Canatu subsequently granted FST a commercial production license in October, enabling a production system where FST pays royalties. The reactor utilizes Canatu's floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FC-CVD) technology to produce ultrathin, web-like CNT membranes for EUV pellicles.

FST is accelerating its efforts to commercialize CNT membrane pellicles, with plans for customer product qualification and pilot production before commercial supply. The company is developing CNT-based EUV pellicles and evaluating them for supply to Samsung Electronics. Pellicles are crucial in semiconductor lithography, preventing microscopic contaminants from adhering to photomasks, which can cause defects.

Currently, there are no commercially available CNT-based EUV pellicles. Conventional silicon-based pellicles face thermal limitations, making CNT an attractive next-generation material due to its high EUV transmittance and robust thermal and mechanical properties. The urgency for commercialization is increasing with the expansion of high-power EUV and high-numerical-aperture (High-NA) EUV technologies.

In Japan, Mitsui Chemicals is developing CNT-based EUV pellicles with imec and has established production facilities with an annual capacity of 5,000 sheets. The company plans to launch products supporting 600 watts (W) output this year and next-generation pellicles for the 1-kilowatt (kW) class in 2027. In South Korea, competition is growing as S&S Tech collaborates with Awesome Ray on CNT-based pellicles, while FST partners with JEIO to develop CNT membrane materials.