3 ms·
Not one mention of Zeiss? Those mirrors are quite the story themselve. The light source also isn't actually being done by asml, it's trumpf
by on_the_train 2y ago
Not one mention of Zeiss? Those mirrors are quite the story themselve. The light source also isn't actually being done by asml, it's trumpf
- kerblang 2y agoThe semiconductor supply chain is bonkers... would like to have a diagram of the whole thing, including the special quartz mine in NC
- zparky 2y agoThere's this site[1] which doesn't go into that much depth but is still neat to explore [1] - https://chipexplorer.eto.tech/ https://chipexplorer.eto.tech/
- alexpotato 2y agoThis is both fascinating and an excellent way to show the "big picture" but also allow people to drill into the details.
- youngtaff 2y agoThere are other quartz mines that can produce the purity needed for the crucibles
- wg0 2y agoAnd that ASML is majority owned by Carl Zeis, a German company.
- on_the_train 2y agoIf anything it's the other way round. Asml owns 25% of Zeiss SMT. Source: I work there
- wg0 2y agoYes - I'm wrong. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Zeiss_SMT https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Zeiss_SMT
- TacticalCoder 2y agoAnd what about all the parts that Zeiss is using? That's basically Milton Friedman on how a pencil is made, but on steroids: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67tHtpac5ws https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67tHtpac5ws
- on_the_train 2y agoNot really. A block of glass arrives at our facility. It undergoes a shitton of processing steps (much longer than you'd think) with atomic-precision measurements between the steps. All of the high end tools are self-developed and self-built. The mirror at the end does not have much in common with the block of glass at the start.
- hikarudo 2y agoAlso see "I Pencil" by Leonard Read (1958).
- subsubzero 2y agoagree, firing ion beams to make the mirror perfect one molecule at a time(they are declared the most precise mirrors on earth). This stuff is beyond wild. Not that I believe this stuff came from alien technology but if anything could be said to have not originated on earth this would be a strong candidate. And barely a hundred years ago we just figuring out flight at kitty hawk and now you have technology like this, its really amazing.
- on_the_train 2y agoEveryone loves the electron beam etching. But no one asks how they know where to etch, which is what the most expensive machines do, I.e. mirror surface metrology. It's surprisingly hard to "just measure" the shape and roughness of these things