HP licenses out nano-imprint technology

By Tom Sanders on May 4, 2007 11:27 AM
Filed under Hardware

Lithography technique open for all - at a fee.

HP has licensed its nano-imprint lithography technology to California based start-up Nanolithosolutions.

The technology provides a way to stamp out patterns of wires on a substrate that are just 50 atoms wide.

It allows for the production of wires on chip of 15nm, a 66 percent reduction on 45nm technologies. Intel is scheduled to start shipping the first 45nm chips later this year.

Other chip components such as capacitors and transistors are then placed on top of the nano-wires.

Nanolithosolutions has developed production tools that allow for the manufacturing of the chips within commonly available mask aligners. The company's co-founder ,Yong Chen, is a former researcher at HP Labs.

Financial details of the arrangement were not disclosed, but HP has acquired an equity stake in the start-up.

HP said that it is open to licensing its nano-imprint lithography technology to additional vendors.