Japanese Canon already provided Intel last year with the initial equipment for chip fabrication using nano-printing—a technology that could significantly lower the cost of producing modern microchips. Concurrently, Dai Nippon Printing developed a compound for specialized masks enabling the application of patterns onto silicon wafers for subsequent etching. This is slated for mass production in 2027 and intended for creating chips at the 1.4 nm level.
This method reduces energy consumption for microchip manufacturing by approximately 90% compared to traditional photolithography employing powerful lasers. Canon’s equipment costs about $6.4 million—tens of times less than advanced lithography scanners from ASML, which currently account for up to half the cost of chips.
Samsung, TSMC, Micron, and Kioxia are showing interest in the technology; however, their facilities are configured for conventional lithography, and transitioning requires complete assurance in the method’s potential. Canon and Nikon were once market frontrunners but eventually ceded ground to ASML. Now, these Japanese firms are attempting to reassert their role in the industry at a new technological phase.
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