Canon tries to break ASML’s grip on chipmaking tools | 商论双语
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（ASML）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。
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.
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。
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%。
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.... ...
【今日免费文章】欢迎打开《经济学人·商论》继续读完本文双语版。App订阅现可享受双11全年低价！
订阅《经济学人·商论》
与全球百万精英同步阅读
·《经济学人·商论》2023年5月推出电动汽车报道《艰难新世界》系列：“汽车产业正在迅速且不可逆转地电气化。中国正在引领对老牌车厂的挑战。”
·《经济学人·商论》2022年4月推出《私人市场》系列深度文章，分析了“门口的野蛮人”最新的第三次发展浪潮。
·《经济学人·商论》2022年5月推出《量化的我》（The Quantified Self）系列深度文章指出，可穿戴设备和人工智能看起来势必要在三大方面重塑医疗保健
微信扫码关注该文公众号作者