Applied Materials unveils new Sculpta tool to help lower chipmaking costs
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Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) unveiled a new tool on Tuesday that it said will help lower costs for making semiconductors.
The new technology, known as Sculpta, will help companies lower the cost of the lithography process, which uses light to put patterns on wafers that are used to make semiconductors.
Lithography incorporates light to print patterns on wafers, something that can happen a number of times per wafer.
Applied Materials (AMAT) said it could save customers as much as $250M per 100,000 wafer starts per month of production capacity, along with manufacturing cost savings of roughly $50 per wafer.
There are also environmental benefits as well, as it could reduce energy and water usage, while also cutting greenhouse gas emission by more than 0.35 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per wafer.
"The new Sculpta system is a great example of how advances in materials engineering can complement [extreme ultraviolet] lithography to help chipmakers optimize chip area and cost while also tackling the growing economic and environmental challenges of advanced chipmaking," said Applied Materials (AMAT) senior vice president Dr. Prabu Raja in a statement. 
Applied Materials (AMAT) shares rose nearly 2% in premarket trading on back of the announcement.
Santa Clara, California-based Applied Materials (AMAT) said its Sculpta tool will let customers use a light for the first pattern and then sculpt the final pattern from that.
Separately on Tuesday, Applied Materials (AMAT) introduced a new eBeam metrology system to accelerate the chipmaking process and help maximize yields.