TRUMPF EUV drive laser
A high-power CO2 laser system that fires 50,000 pulses a second at tin droplets, creating the plasma that emits the light used in EUV chipmaking.
- Made by
- TRUMPF
- From
- Ditzingen, Baden-Württemberg
- Category
- Semiconductor equipment
What it is
The TRUMPF Laser Amplifier is the drive laser of the light source in ASML's extreme ultraviolet lithography machines. It is a carbon dioxide laser system of unusual size and power, developed by the Ditzingen-based machine tool and laser group to produce the extreme ultraviolet light that patterns the most advanced microchips.
How it works
EUV light cannot be generated by an ordinary lamp. Instead, tiny droplets of tin fall through a vacuum chamber, and the laser hits them 50,000 times per second. Each hit turns a droplet into a plasma hotter than the surface of the sun, which emits light at a wavelength of 13.5 nanometres. TRUMPF's amplifier starts with a pulse of a few watts and boosts it more than 10,000 times across five amplifier stages, reaching tens of kilowatts of average pulse power and peak powers of several megawatts. The underlying CO2 technology runs at more than 10 kW in continuous-wave mode.
Why it stands out
Generating enough EUV light for mass production was for years the main obstacle to the technology. TRUMPF developed the laser with ASML, which integrates it with its droplet generator and scanner, while ZEISS supplies the optics. According to TRUMPF, the system now supports throughput of more than 100 wafers an hour, enough for series production. The partners were jointly honoured with the German Future Prize in 2020. It is a clear example of a German Mittelstand engineering firm becoming indispensable to a global supply chain.
Where you meet it
Like the ZEISS mirrors, the laser works out of sight. Its output is found in the high-end processors and memory chips made on EUV lines at the world's leading foundries, and therefore in many recent smartphones, cloud servers and AI accelerators. The laser itself is one of the largest and most complex industrial lasers ever built.
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Last reviewed 4 November 2026. Main source: www.trumpf.com/en_GB/applications/euv-lithography. Suggest a correction.