The Most Important Machine in the World
December 30, 2024 10:46 AM Subscribe
And it depends on this woman. “I thought I had the coolest job ever,” Hall says. “I didn’t process the fact that this job is necessary for our entire world to exist as it does.”
The piece of equipment that the entire world has come to rely on—and she is specially trained to handle—is called an extreme ultraviolet lithography machine.
Even today, there are only a few hundred of these EUV machines in existence—and they are ludicrously expensive. The one that Hall maintains cost $170 million, while the latest models sell for roughly $370 million. These machines are made by one company, ASML a Dutch company.
The author of the article got a first hand look at the machine(s). They said there were two facts that they could not get out of their mind, "ASML teamed up with a German optical company to develop mirrors so flat that if they were scaled up to the size of Germany itself, their largest imperfection would be less than a millimeter.The precision of EUV machines is comparable to directing a laser beam from your house and hitting a ping-pong ball on the moon."
Related post
The piece of equipment that the entire world has come to rely on—and she is specially trained to handle—is called an extreme ultraviolet lithography machine.
Even today, there are only a few hundred of these EUV machines in existence—and they are ludicrously expensive. The one that Hall maintains cost $170 million, while the latest models sell for roughly $370 million. These machines are made by one company, ASML a Dutch company.
The author of the article got a first hand look at the machine(s). They said there were two facts that they could not get out of their mind, "ASML teamed up with a German optical company to develop mirrors so flat that if they were scaled up to the size of Germany itself, their largest imperfection would be less than a millimeter.The precision of EUV machines is comparable to directing a laser beam from your house and hitting a ping-pong ball on the moon."
Related post
Much more enjoyable read than I expected! Very glad she found a job that she loves. The scale/scope of the job and the company and the machines - almost beyond comprehension.
Best line: "Hall was intrigued when her interviewer asked how she felt working in tight spaces and bunny suits."
posted by davidmsc at 11:09 AM on December 30 [1 favorite]
Best line: "Hall was intrigued when her interviewer asked how she felt working in tight spaces and bunny suits."
posted by davidmsc at 11:09 AM on December 30 [1 favorite]
I have not been paying attention to this end of the fab business for years and years. The new hotness when I last paid attention was excimer lasers. The shortest wavelength they use with that technology is 193nm. The crazypants mad science these new fabs use is 13.5nm.
They make a big deal in the article about the smoothness of the mirrors. But the amazing thing is that the mirrors reflect at all. They can’t use lenses because no matter transmits light at 13.5nm normally. They have to use mirrors, and furthermore to get acceptable reflection efficiency, they have to fabricate the mirrors with alternating metal layers in order to coax some reflection via quantum effects. To me, the marvel is not the optical perfection of the reflection. It’s that it reflects at all!
posted by notoriety public at 11:22 AM on December 30 [31 favorites]
They make a big deal in the article about the smoothness of the mirrors. But the amazing thing is that the mirrors reflect at all. They can’t use lenses because no matter transmits light at 13.5nm normally. They have to use mirrors, and furthermore to get acceptable reflection efficiency, they have to fabricate the mirrors with alternating metal layers in order to coax some reflection via quantum effects. To me, the marvel is not the optical perfection of the reflection. It’s that it reflects at all!
posted by notoriety public at 11:22 AM on December 30 [31 favorites]
If this machine is so important, is it wise to locate it in Idaho?
posted by RonButNotStupid at 11:46 AM on December 30 [10 favorites]
posted by RonButNotStupid at 11:46 AM on December 30 [10 favorites]
Hall was intrigued when her interviewer asked how she felt working in tight spaces and bunny suits.
I was aware that many of the people who maintain the critical infrastructure of modern technology are furries, but I didn’t know it was a requirement.
posted by Jon_Evil at 12:23 PM on December 30 [15 favorites]
I was aware that many of the people who maintain the critical infrastructure of modern technology are furries, but I didn’t know it was a requirement.
posted by Jon_Evil at 12:23 PM on December 30 [15 favorites]
These machines are truly sci-fi. They vaporize molten tin droplets to generate the right wavelength of light to get the tiny feature size. Incredible feat of engineering.
posted by wemayfreeze at 1:06 PM on December 30 [6 favorites]
posted by wemayfreeze at 1:06 PM on December 30 [6 favorites]
terrific story. Hall seems like a fun person.
also, without spoiling anything... wait 'til you get to the part about the buckets!
posted by martin q blank at 2:01 PM on December 30
also, without spoiling anything... wait 'til you get to the part about the buckets!
posted by martin q blank at 2:01 PM on December 30
Former ASML employee here. In addition to their technical wizardry, ASML is a PROJECT MANAGEMENT MACHINE ... You put Thing requirements, resources, and a project plan in one end of the machine, turn the crank, and out comes Thing from the other end, ready for use. Their PMO would make a great B-school case study.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 2:09 PM on December 30 [18 favorites]
posted by ZenMasterThis at 2:09 PM on December 30 [18 favorites]
My son works in a similar role at a biotech company, where they also have to have surfaces where like a 3 micron difference ruins the whole thing. Just insane. Also, laser beams.
We are living in the future...
Ms. Hall is a badass.
posted by Windopaene at 2:19 PM on December 30 [3 favorites]
We are living in the future...
Ms. Hall is a badass.
posted by Windopaene at 2:19 PM on December 30 [3 favorites]
Best line: "Hall was intrigued when her interviewer asked how she felt working in tight spaces and bunny suits."
During my time at Intel, I had the opportunity to tour a fab clean room, and it is a valid question. I’m not usually claustrophobic, it was still glad it was only an hour or two, not 8 hours, every day.
posted by funkaspuck at 2:26 PM on December 30 [2 favorites]
During my time at Intel, I had the opportunity to tour a fab clean room, and it is a valid question. I’m not usually claustrophobic, it was still glad it was only an hour or two, not 8 hours, every day.
posted by funkaspuck at 2:26 PM on December 30 [2 favorites]
If this machine is so important, is it wise to locate it in Idaho?Micron has a large manufacturing facility just outside of Boise, Idaho, which is presumably why one of these machines is there.
posted by Hatashran at 3:07 PM on December 30 [2 favorites]
If this machine is so important, is it wise to locate it in Idaho?
One of the things about working with lasers and mirrors at nanometer scales is that it doesn't take much undesired motion for the beam to be "off" and hitting the wrong thing. Which is bad. I've read reports about air conditioners three buildings over produce vibrations enough to disrupt the fabrication process.
So locating a fab away from highways and populations seems like a good way to introduce less noise into the process. But as this report notes, there's a tradeoff in site selection between prior economic activity and access to talent. And even when you do build remote, a community to support this 24x365 operation will necessarily arise.
But probably, the dominant decision is simple economics: which jurisdiction offers the greatest incentives, in all its myriad forms?
posted by pwnguin at 3:59 PM on December 30 [2 favorites]
One of the things about working with lasers and mirrors at nanometer scales is that it doesn't take much undesired motion for the beam to be "off" and hitting the wrong thing. Which is bad. I've read reports about air conditioners three buildings over produce vibrations enough to disrupt the fabrication process.
So locating a fab away from highways and populations seems like a good way to introduce less noise into the process. But as this report notes, there's a tradeoff in site selection between prior economic activity and access to talent. And even when you do build remote, a community to support this 24x365 operation will necessarily arise.
But probably, the dominant decision is simple economics: which jurisdiction offers the greatest incentives, in all its myriad forms?
posted by pwnguin at 3:59 PM on December 30 [2 favorites]
I'll admit, I'm green with envy.
posted by jy4m at 4:28 PM on December 30 [1 favorite]
posted by jy4m at 4:28 PM on December 30 [1 favorite]
There is always a certain delight to read an article and think to myself, "this would be a great link for MetaFilter," only to close the tab and then realize how I found it in the first place.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 5:11 PM on December 30 [16 favorites]
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 5:11 PM on December 30 [16 favorites]
I spend a ton of time reading and writing about semiconductors, but mostly through the lens of Taiwan and TSMC and the fabs that use the ASML EUV machinery to make chips. I love that more people are starting to realize the importance of this industry. It’s also good to see these types of stories, as building out the available workforce is the top priority for most of the semiconductor companies I work with.
It’s all so insanely complicated. My favorite anecdote to explain the scales we are looking at here is that the most advanced chips in mass production are going to be at the 2nm node starting next year. 1nm is the rate at which your fingernails grow in a second. It’s one of the most astonishing human ingenuity stories ever.
posted by gemmy at 6:07 PM on December 30 [15 favorites]
It’s all so insanely complicated. My favorite anecdote to explain the scales we are looking at here is that the most advanced chips in mass production are going to be at the 2nm node starting next year. 1nm is the rate at which your fingernails grow in a second. It’s one of the most astonishing human ingenuity stories ever.
posted by gemmy at 6:07 PM on December 30 [15 favorites]
I'll admit, I'm green with envy.
Me, too, jy4m. Me, too. I'm always envious of someone who seems to have found their niche, where they're happy with what they do, have the recognition they deserve, and are making enough money to be satisfied and content. She seems like a neat gal who is comfortable enough in her position and with her skills not to have overwhelming stress. A 170k machine that would cost the earth in minutes of downtime--how stressful could that possibly be? Having somebody remix an xkcd is the ultimate in famous fabulosity, IMO.
I've read reports about air conditioners three buildings over produce vibrations enough to disrupt the fabrication process.
Interestingly enough, the first Micron building is only 1000 feet from I84, and the big fab building being built is only 1/2 mile away. My house is 1500 feet north of that same interstate, and there was a double tire blowout on the hind end of an eastbound truck that literally rattled the house and cracked a window at the neighbors. I'll bet the specs on the building that houses the EUV machine are outrageous!
posted by BlueHorse at 6:46 PM on December 30 [2 favorites]
Me, too, jy4m. Me, too. I'm always envious of someone who seems to have found their niche, where they're happy with what they do, have the recognition they deserve, and are making enough money to be satisfied and content. She seems like a neat gal who is comfortable enough in her position and with her skills not to have overwhelming stress. A 170k machine that would cost the earth in minutes of downtime--how stressful could that possibly be? Having somebody remix an xkcd is the ultimate in famous fabulosity, IMO.
I've read reports about air conditioners three buildings over produce vibrations enough to disrupt the fabrication process.
Interestingly enough, the first Micron building is only 1000 feet from I84, and the big fab building being built is only 1/2 mile away. My house is 1500 feet north of that same interstate, and there was a double tire blowout on the hind end of an eastbound truck that literally rattled the house and cracked a window at the neighbors. I'll bet the specs on the building that houses the EUV machine are outrageous!
posted by BlueHorse at 6:46 PM on December 30 [2 favorites]
If you're into video, Asianometry has an excellent series on ASML and EUV lithography. I remember my mind being blown by the tiny molten tin gun that makes it all work somewhere in there.
posted by clawsoon at 7:37 PM on December 30 [6 favorites]
posted by clawsoon at 7:37 PM on December 30 [6 favorites]
One of the things about working with lasers and mirrors at nanometer scales is that it doesn't take much undesired motion for the beam to be "off" and hitting the wrong thing.
This is why the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), which finally started detecting GWs in 2016, is located in Louisiana farmland, with sister facilities in similarly remote corners of Washington state, Italy and Japan. I've been to the main LIGO in LA, and as you approach on the driveway, they have you roll slower and slower ...
posted by intermod at 9:29 PM on December 30 [4 favorites]
This is why the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), which finally started detecting GWs in 2016, is located in Louisiana farmland, with sister facilities in similarly remote corners of Washington state, Italy and Japan. I've been to the main LIGO in LA, and as you approach on the driveway, they have you roll slower and slower ...
posted by intermod at 9:29 PM on December 30 [4 favorites]
Original poster here. As los pantelones del muerte pointed out, I read the story and said this is what MetaFilter is all about.
I read a bunch of articles so I am not sure which one said it, but as far as vibration and sitting the building, the foundation for one of these buildings has more cement than the Empire State Building.. It did not give the specs, but 6 ft or more of a foundation slab?
As for what first led me to the story, Ms. Hall herself. I too am envious of someone who found their niche and can make a living doing what they enjoy and studied for. I have been in the business of equities trading and training traders (to trade with my company money). When I interviewed potential trainees, I would always ask why they wanted to be traders. If the answer was some derivative of "make a lot of money" that was a huge strike against them. To me, it is a personality thing. Trading is very binary. You get instantaneous feedback if you are right or wrong. You get a report card every day with how well you did. There is no wooing clients or working on a project for two months only to have your boss tell you the project is being scrapped. Your ego is on the line daily when trading, but you always know where you stand. While you are competing against all the other investors and traders out there, you are really competing against yourself. Bienna Hall has found what suits here which is something a lot of people spend an entire career seeking.
As for the machines, the biggest picture view I can grasp, but as you move in from 50,000 feet, it boggles my mind what they are doing and how they thought to do it. The "previously related" link, I included because in there was what appeared to be a related article when you search to see if it is a duplicate. That post, btw, is so increcibly researched and laid out. But, it was also so over my head that I included it without really knowing if it was related or thinking that all this nano stuff is related.
I applaud the author who was able to use Ms. Hall to describe the machine and what it does and making it at a level this simpleton could understand and of course, I applaud the hero of the story, Ms. Hall.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:03 PM on December 30 [5 favorites]
I read a bunch of articles so I am not sure which one said it, but as far as vibration and sitting the building, the foundation for one of these buildings has more cement than the Empire State Building.. It did not give the specs, but 6 ft or more of a foundation slab?
As for what first led me to the story, Ms. Hall herself. I too am envious of someone who found their niche and can make a living doing what they enjoy and studied for. I have been in the business of equities trading and training traders (to trade with my company money). When I interviewed potential trainees, I would always ask why they wanted to be traders. If the answer was some derivative of "make a lot of money" that was a huge strike against them. To me, it is a personality thing. Trading is very binary. You get instantaneous feedback if you are right or wrong. You get a report card every day with how well you did. There is no wooing clients or working on a project for two months only to have your boss tell you the project is being scrapped. Your ego is on the line daily when trading, but you always know where you stand. While you are competing against all the other investors and traders out there, you are really competing against yourself. Bienna Hall has found what suits here which is something a lot of people spend an entire career seeking.
As for the machines, the biggest picture view I can grasp, but as you move in from 50,000 feet, it boggles my mind what they are doing and how they thought to do it. The "previously related" link, I included because in there was what appeared to be a related article when you search to see if it is a duplicate. That post, btw, is so increcibly researched and laid out. But, it was also so over my head that I included it without really knowing if it was related or thinking that all this nano stuff is related.
I applaud the author who was able to use Ms. Hall to describe the machine and what it does and making it at a level this simpleton could understand and of course, I applaud the hero of the story, Ms. Hall.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:03 PM on December 30 [5 favorites]
TIL. Thank you so much for posting this.
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 11:57 PM on December 30 [1 favorite]
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 11:57 PM on December 30 [1 favorite]
One of the talks at CCC this year was From Silicon to Sovereignty: How Advanced Chips are Redefining Global Dominance and looked at how companies like ASML and TSMC are strategic assets for the future.
If you want some ASML at home, they have you covered...
posted by autopilot at 1:19 AM on December 31 [2 favorites]
If you want some ASML at home, they have you covered...
posted by autopilot at 1:19 AM on December 31 [2 favorites]
ludicrously expensive. The one that Hall maintains cost $170 million, while the latest models sell for roughly $370 million
Chump change compared to what the c*nts in charge are prepared to spend on a submarine.
posted by flabdablet at 1:46 AM on December 31 [1 favorite]
Chump change compared to what the c*nts in charge are prepared to spend on a submarine.
posted by flabdablet at 1:46 AM on December 31 [1 favorite]
Really fascinating piece, thanks for sharing it!
posted by eternalhedgehog at 3:01 AM on December 31 [1 favorite]
posted by eternalhedgehog at 3:01 AM on December 31 [1 favorite]
I hope they pay her an astronomical amount of money.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:28 AM on December 31
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:28 AM on December 31
There is always a certain delight to read an article and think to myself, "this would be a great link for MetaFilter," only to close the tab and then realize how I found it in the first place.
Wait, you can … close … tabs?
posted by louigi at 8:31 AM on December 31 [8 favorites]
Wait, you can … close … tabs?
posted by louigi at 8:31 AM on December 31 [8 favorites]
There's something fantastic in the image of someone cleaning themselves and donning vestments to enter a room kept away from all dirt and noise, where an enormous machine takes the element that kicked off the bronze age, pours enough energy into it to heat it like the corona of the sun, then bounces its light off artworks carved in tantalum to make rocks think.
posted by lucidium at 8:57 AM on December 31 [11 favorites]
posted by lucidium at 8:57 AM on December 31 [11 favorites]
EUV technology is so revolutionary, China is banned from buying it, so as not to undercut the soft power of Western-allied fabs. One of the most important machines in the world, indeed. The value of Ms. Hall's brain is beyond measure.
posted by lock robster at 2:09 PM on December 31
posted by lock robster at 2:09 PM on December 31
My favorite anecdote to explain the scales we are looking at here is that the most advanced chips in mass production are going to be at the 2nm node starting next year. 1nm is the rate at which your fingernails grow in a second. It’s one of the most astonishing human ingenuity stories ever.
It’s worth noting however that “3nm” or “2nm” no longer describes actual feature size. They’ve started using these to designate basically generation of the technology. Here’s Wikipedia on 2nm:
posted by wemayfreeze at 3:11 PM on December 31 [1 favorite]
It’s worth noting however that “3nm” or “2nm” no longer describes actual feature size. They’ve started using these to designate basically generation of the technology. Here’s Wikipedia on 2nm:
The term "2 nanometer", or alternatively "20 angstrom" (a term used by Intel), has no relation to any actual physical feature (such as gate length, metal pitch or gate pitch) of the transistors. According to the projections contained in the 2021 update of the International Roadmap for Devices and Systems published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a "2.1 nm node range label" is expected to have a contacted gate pitch of 45 nanometers and a tightest metal pitch of 20 nanometers.[1]Or see here where Samsung rebranded its “3nm” process as a “2nm” process basically for marketing reasons.
posted by wemayfreeze at 3:11 PM on December 31 [1 favorite]
We'd serious supply disruption issues for larger scale chips not toio long ago, in part because nobody makes the machines to make those chips. See the MCH2022 talk: Where did all the parts go - the 202x component availability trashfire
Also Bunnie Hung's last two CCC talks rocked:
IRIS: Non-Destructive Inspection of Silicon
Open Source is Insufficient to Solve Trust Problems in Hardware
posted by jeffburdges at 4:55 PM on December 31
Also Bunnie Hung's last two CCC talks rocked:
IRIS: Non-Destructive Inspection of Silicon
Open Source is Insufficient to Solve Trust Problems in Hardware
posted by jeffburdges at 4:55 PM on December 31
« Older Fiery plane crash kills 179 in worst airline... | What is OpenAI? Newer »
Seriously discussing the most incredible machines on the planet...
posted by brambleboy at 11:06 AM on December 30