dfgs234

I suppose it depends what they're printing and why. There are plenty of structures that will want to be 180nm and larger for many years to come.

But I definitely agree that pretty soon it will make no sense to artificially limit printing resolution and, for high volume manufacturing, buying a new machine that can't do better than 180nm will make little sense.

You might find this course helpful then. There is a huge amount of information you need to consume to make an IC so having it all organized for you is pretty valuable. It will save you many, many, hours. :)

https://zerotoasiccourse.com

That doesn't really match my experience. I could be totally wrong though because I don't get to look at the books.

ASML it still announcing DUV systems on their product page. I would think this would mean they would be very happy to sell you a new one. https://www.asml.com/en/products/duv-lithography-systems

And machine revitalization and refurbishment is an important selling point for this kind of capital equipment.

https://www.asml.com/en/news/stories/2023/revitalization-thr...

"Did you know that approximately 95% of ASML lithography systems sold in the past 30 years are still active in the field? As of the end of 2022, more than 5,000 of our machines are hard at work in chipmaking fabs globally – a feat made possible by the fact that our systems can be repaired, refurbished and repurposed throughout their life cycles. It’s all part of our commitment to supporting a circular economy in the semiconductor industry that reduces waste, adds value and lessens environmental impact."

"Currently there’s a growing market in the semiconductor industry for mature DUV technology solutions. Refurbished systems provide cost-effective options for chipmakers looking to scale up in that area."

> The secret is that 180nm nodes are so legacy

That's true but they keep upping the capabilities of what the designer can do at 180nm. Based on the wait times for my jobs, there's not a lot of spare cycles, at least at the foundries I use.

> 180 nm fabs are getting to the point where replacing machines is prohibitively expensive and spare parts have to be custom made.

Do you have a reference for that? I'm not sure why it would be true.

180nm lines have many other advantages, like better transistor gain for analog, lower leakage, more advanced device types and BCD. Some 180nm lines can also do MEMS. Maybe a couple of foundries are struggling but I would've thought 180nm was still going pretty strong.

If you just want to put your verilog into an ASIC then it can be done fairly inexpensively these days.

For example: https://efabless.com/chipignite $10K for 100 packaged dies in QFN. Which is not totally out of hobby range (I've seen people spend way more on fixing up cars that have no business being fixed) and if you use their harness they'll solve most of the hard EE problems for you.

But you might consider why you're making the IC. If it's for the experience, sure. But if it's to make a commercial product, there's a lot more to it. For example, what's your IO solution...