Even Before NSTC Designation, Capital Region Was Already at EUV R&D Forefront

An EUV workstation at the Albany NanoTech Complex.

Even before the Albany NanoTech Complex was designated a National Semiconductor Technology Center flagship facility for standard and high numerical aperture (NA) extreme ultraviolet (EUV) research and development, the Capital Region already had an advantage over most states when it came to EUV innovation. Excluding California, no other state has more EUV-focused patents* that list local inventors than the Capital Region, according to a Center for Economic Growth analysis of data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patents View tool.

“The Albany NanoTech Complex has had a long-term relationship with EUV Programs, from the original ASML Alpha Demo Tool to today’s EUV systems.  As a neutral host and technology partner, NY CREATES has provided EUV piloting efforts for many organizations as part of a strong history of EUV-focused research, development, and prototyping, consistently providing world-class value to our partners on site and around the world,” said Christopher Borst, NY CREATES’ vice president of technology and infrastructure.

Extreme Ultraviolet Technology

EUV lithography is critical technology that supports the scaling of chip architectures and the invention of next-generation chips. In 2006, the Netherlands-based ASML shipped one of the world’s first EUV machines to Albany Nanotech. IBM Research used that ASML EUV alpha demo tool (ADT) to design processes for 7 nm and 5 nm chip production. In 2020, NY CREATES, Albany NanoTech’s operator, installed an ASML Twinscan NXE:3400B EUV. A year later, IBM Research announced it had produced the world’s first 2 nm chip node, with the help of the NXE:3400B machine at Albany NanoTech.

NY CREATES is now pursuing a $1 billion expansion to support the development of a High NA EUV Lithography Center, which will house the nation’s first and only publicly owned high NA EUV lithography machine: the ASML EXE:5200B (0.55 NA). The development of this center influenced the decision by the NSTC’s operator, Natcast, to name Albany NanoTech the CHIPS for America EUV Accelerator, which will be supported by $825 million in federal funding. In 2026, the EXE:5200B (0.55 NA) will be available to NSTC members and will support R&D for sub-2 nm chip nodes.

EUV-Focused Patents

Between 2015 and November 2024, the UPTO granted 85 EUV-focused patents that list inventors from New York. Among those EUV-focused patents, nearly three-quarters of them (62) listed inventors in the eight-county Capital Region. Patents listing Capital Region inventors were mostly assigned to IBM, GlobalFoundries and Tokyo Electron, each of which have had a presence at Albany NanoTech.

“EUV, or Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography, is the technology used to make the most advanced chips, which means Albany is driving the leading edge of innovation for the world,” CEG President and CEO Mark Eagan said.

Examples of widely cited EUV-focused patents that list Capital Region inventors include:

Resist having tuned interface hardmask layer for EUV exposure, IBM

Structure and method for fixing phase effects on EUV mask, IBM

Molecular organometallic resists for EUV, SUNY Research Foundation

With more than 240, California had the most EUV-focused patents listing inventors in the state. Boosting California’s patent generation was the ASML, which has deep UV (DUV) and EUV R&D operations in San Diego. However, other states had far fewer EUV-focused patents listing local inventors than even the Capital Region. For example, Oregon had 16, Connecticut had 12, Texas and Colorado had nine, and Arizona had eight.

R&D Hub

This NSTC flagship facility designation will bolster the Capital Region’s physical/engineering/biological research industry, which in 2023 climbed to a record high of 7,681 jobs in 2023, according to New York State Department of Labor statistics. In 2022, the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metropolitan statistical area is one of only 69 metros in the country where businesses annually spend more than $1 billion on R&D. Only 13 metros in the Northeast could call themselves “$1-Billion Business R&D Metros” that year. And nearly $700 million in R&D spending occurred at the region’s colleges and universities.

CEG Initiatives

CEG and its Manufacturing Solutions team leverages the Capital Region’s R&D assets to do the following:

• Promote the region around the world at industry conferences;
• Improve businesses’ access to labs at facilities, such as those at NY CREATES’ Albany Nanotech Complex, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in addition to others affiliated with Innovate 518, a University at Albany-led collaborative effort of Capital Region incubators, accelerators, and entrepreneurial service providers;
• Accelerate commercialization by leveraging tech scouting, gathering technology-driven market intelligence, engaging Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) for testing and development;
• Develop prototypes with its Stratasys F270 3D printer at the Tech Valley Center of Gravity or provide hand-on access to it; and
• Assist in the preparation of grant applications for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and Small Business Technology Transfer Program.

Note

*“EUV-focused patents” include patents granted by the USPTO between 2015 and November 2024 that are in the G03F,  H01L and/or H05G Cooperative Patent Classification system subclasses and mention “extreme ultraviolet” or “EUV in their titles. Note: Other patents outside this scope may relate to EUV technology.

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