Canon was among the first to begin work on the development of F₂ (157nm) scanner technology. Its subsequent collaborative work on a prototype platform and process development has been underway since early 2000.

This program, involving joint work with several industry partners, is on track to produce a F₂ beta system, the FPA-5800FS1, by the fourth quarter of 2003; then a production system, the FPA-6000FS2, by early 2005. By the time the FPA-6000FS2 is launched, its platform will have been used in high volume manufacturing down to the 65nm node with several generations of KrF and ArF Canon scanners.

The extensive IP Canon gained through its early work with x-ray imaging technology, has given it a significant head start in F₂ system development, particularly in overcoming the two major problem areas— lens coating and chamber purging.

The durability of coatings for lenses and mirrors in a 157nm optical system has been dramatically enhanced by Canon’s new high-density deposition process. Evaluations of HR and AR coatings applied by this process show virtually no degradation after 60 million 22mj/cm2 pulses.

Since oxygen strongly absorbs 157nm radiation, Canon is designing several well-integrated systems into its F₂ tools to purge everything from the beam path. These include--
--Separate N2 circulation systems for the reticle and wafer stages.
--N2 purged load locks at areas of wafer and reticle transfer.
--Conditioning/filtering systems to purify the circulating nitrogen and minimize its consumption.
--Thermal isolation and stability for the entire exposure system, achieved by containing the main body and other modules in a temperature-controlled chamber.

Recognizing the progress in the development of pellicle materials and formats to meet the extreme demands for 157nm exposure, Canon has designed its FS1 projection optics to be field adjustable-- to accommodate either a traditional organic pellicle or a hard pellicle.

In designing the novel catadioptric lens system for its F₂ system, Canon has drawn from previous generations of KrF and ArF lenses, and is making full use of its highly advanced projection lens manufacturing and tuning process, which it calls "wavefront engineering." As with its previous generations of lithography tools, Canon has developed and built it’s own at - wavelength PMI system for 157nm lens tuning.

Because the success of F₂ depends heavily on the availability and quality of a special type of glass, Canon, in August 2001, completed its Optron facility for large-volume manufacturing of high-grade calcium fluoride crystal for use in lenses for its ArF and F₂ scanners.