A unique ultraviolet laser has been created in Russia for the production of microchips. It is a substitute for the American Coherent laser.
The Russian company Optical Technologies from Novosibirsk has developed a domestic laser system for printing photomasks using ultraviolet radiation. According to TASS, with reference to representatives of the company, this laser currently has no analogues in Russia. This laser will be used in the manufacture of microchips, the agency said.
However, there are substitutes for the new brainchild of Optical Technologies outside of Russia. The new Russian laser is 257-nanometer, and the exact same one is available to the American company Coherent. However, in recent years, the company has faced various difficulties – in the summer of 2024, Apple terminated all contracts with it for the production of components for the iPhone, as a result of which Coherent intended to close one of its European factories for the production of electronic components. It is located in the UK.
The new Russian laser, like its foreign counterparts, is used for the same purpose – to print photo templates. In turn, these photomasks are later used to apply patterns to silicon wafers, the newspaper notes.
From a physical point of view, a photomask is a special thin film on which a surface diagram of a silicon wafer is applied – it is later used for laser lithography.
Laser lithography is the most common method of applying an image to a silicon wafer. It uses a special laser, and Russia also has such technologies. In September 2024, it was reported that after 2026, a relatively large production of lasers for lithography will begin in Russia, which will be used to produce microcircuits. It is planned to assemble at least five such lasers per year.
A representative of the development company confirmed to TASS that Coherent products will be the first to replace the Russian laser. "We import American Coherent lasers at 257 nanometers, and all the equipment and photoresistors are tuned to this wavelength. There are no analogues in Russia, because these are highly specialized lasers," he said.
The new laser is a special software and hardware complex. In terms of hardware, this is a symbiosis of a 10-30 MW (milliwatt) laser and a fiber amplifier.
The purpose of the latter becomes clear from its name. In the creation of "Optical Technologies", it is used to multiply the laser energy power from the base 10-30 MW to 15 watts.
In addition to the above, the laser contains a special crystal. It is used to convert the frequency of laser light. "Additional generation is being obtained," Optical Technologies told TASS.
The final design has a very low energy consumption, which reduces electricity costs and increases overall production efficiency, the laser developers told TASS. According to them, the system consumes 1 watt of energy, but did not specify in what period of time. They only noted that the energy consumption of the laser is "less than half that of a kettle."
By the time the material was published, the developers had not disclosed the timing of the start of mass production of the new laser. All that is known is that by the end of May 2025, they had only one pre-production prototype in their hands, which they are using for testing.
By the way, the tests themselves are not conducted in Russia at all. The electronic industry enterprise Planar, located in Belarus, became a testing ground for them.
