Lithography lessons
光刻经验
Canon tries to break ASML’s grip on chipmaking tools
佳能试图打破阿斯麦对芯片制造设备的垄断
Good luck with that
祝它好运
- lithography 平板印刷术、石印术
Purveyors of chipmaking tools seldom attract attention. Yet many investors’ heads turned on October 13th, when Canon unveiled a new piece of kit. It is easy to see why. The Japanese company, which makes optical equipment, claims that its “nanoimprint” lithography machine can etch the very smallest transistors used in the most advanced microchips. Such feats have hitherto been the preserve of ASML, a Dutch manufacturer of lithographic tools. Canon hopes to eat further into ASML’s business by eventually cranking out two-nanometre chips.
芯片制造设备的供应商很少引起人们的注意。不过当10月13日佳能推出一款新设备时，许多投资者都转头看向了它。原因很容易理解。这家制造光学设备的日本公司称，其“纳米压印”光刻机可以蚀刻在最先进的微芯片中使用的那种最小的晶体管。迄今为止，这样的创举一直是荷兰光刻机制造商阿斯麦的专利。佳能希望最终能制造两纳米芯片，进一步抢占阿斯麦的业务。
- purveyor 提供者；供应商；供应公司
- optical 视力的、视觉的；有助于视力的；光学的；光读取的、光存储的
- etch 蚀刻、凿出（参见：一词多义 | etch）
- feat 表示极具技巧、耐力或独创性的“技艺、武艺”（参见：小词详解 | feat）
- hitherto 迄今、直到某时
- crank 大量地快速制造；（尤指）粗制滥造
The possibility of breaking ASML’s stranglehold on the supply chain for cutting-edge chips is intriguing. The firm has long enjoyed the biggest monopoly in the concentrated semiconductor industry. The world’s three biggest chip manufacturers—Intel, Samsung and TSMC—depend entirely on its extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) technology to produce the cutting-edge microprocessors that go into smartphones and the powerful data-centre servers on which the computing cloud lives.
阿斯麦在尖端芯片供应链上的垄断地位可能被打破，这件事非常有趣。在高度集中的半导体行业，阿斯麦长期享有最大的垄断地位。全球最大的三家芯片制造商——英特尔、三星和台积电——完全依靠它的极紫外（简称EUV）光刻技术来生产尖端的微处理器。智能手机以及计算云所在的强大的数据中心服务器使用这些微处理器。
- stranglehold 掐脖子、卡脖子；压制、束缚
- intriguing 非常有趣的；引人入胜的；神秘的
ASML’s EUV rigs use high-powered lasers to etch electrical blueprints onto circular silicon discs. Canon’s alternative, by contrast, directly stamps chip designs on such wafers using a patterned mould. In theory, this allows it to make more detailed patterns. And because it involves fewer steps and avoids the need for expensive lasers and supersmooth mirrors, it could be much cheaper than EUV lithography. ASML’s share price dipped by more than 2% and Canon’s rose by nearly as much on the nanoimprint news.
阿斯麦的EUV设备是用高功率激光器将电子线路图蚀刻到硅晶片上。相比之下，佳能的替代方案是使用图案模具直接把芯片设计印制到这些硅晶片上。理论上，这让它可以制作更精细的图案。而且因为涉及的步骤更少，不需要昂贵的激光器和超光滑的镜片，价格可能比EUV光刻便宜得多。受纳米压印消息的影响，阿斯麦的股价下跌了超过2%，佳能的股价则上涨了近2%。
- wafer 威化饼，薄脆饼（常与冰激凌同吃）；圣饼、圣体、面饼；薄片
