The Amazing Longevity of Moore’s Law - 65 Years and Going Strong

Abstract: In 1967, Gordon Moore formulated his now-famous doubling observation that became known as Moore’s Law. At that time, an integrated circuit contained 60 transistors. Fast forward to today and NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin IC contains 336 billion transistors. In this presentation, we will review the history of photolithography in semiconductors and how it has played an essential role throughout this remarkable progression. After a detailed look at today’s High-NA EUV machines, we will finish with an outlook on what the future may hold, both as related to lithography for advanced packaging and with respect to the use of even shorter wavelength.

Bio: Ronald Goossens was born and raised in the Netherlands where he studied Physics at Utrecht University. During his study, he worked on computer modeling of nucleosynthesis in stellar interiors and the impact on stellar evolution. This became the start of a life-long love affair with modeling and simulation of complex physical and chemical processes. During his years with Phillips Research, Stanford University, National Semiconductor, and NXP Semiconductor, he worked on modeling of electron transport in transistors, of analog circuit behavior, and of system-level digital designs. For the last 20 years, he has worked at ASML on Computational Lithography with emphasis on control applications in semiconductor manufacturing. In early 2022, Ronald retired from full-time work. Currently, he holds positions as a part-time Senior Strategy Manager for ASML, as Adjunct Professor of Nanolithography at Purdue University, and as a Board Member of the Boys & Girls Club of Silicon Valley. Ronald is an avid outdoor photographer and skier.