Incredible technology - the light-source works by generating droplets of molten tin, firing them through a chamber at around (IIRC) 200mph, and hitting each droplet with two laser pulses... at 50kHz.
Thank you - that's humour though isn't it? I think the best jokes start with a moment of confusion which is resolved by sudden understanding, but sometimes that understanding never arrives and then the joke doesn't land - that's partly due to the listener and partly due to the person telling the joke.
Context - it’s a Lego model of a machine used to produce computer chips:
> The TWINSCAN EXE:5000 is the first 0.55 NA, or ‘High NA’, EUV lithography system. Its 8 nm resolution will enable chipmakers to print with a single exposure features 1.7 times smaller – and therefore achieve transistor densities 2.9 times higher – than those possible using TWINSCAN NXE systems.
Lego currently has factories in North America, Europe and Asia[1]. Their PDF says the China factory supplies China and the rest of Asia; but I think supply isn't as regimented as suggested, I recall seeing more than just Henco in Mexico on my recently purchased sets in the US (I think I've gotten things made in Hungary and Czech Republic).
There seems to be a model of the ASML TWINSCAN NXE3400C which shows the inner workings, but doesn't show on the ASML site. Would be neat if someone could track down the build instructions.
Apparently, it was created by Rick Lenssen [1], who works at the Development & Engineering department of ASML. It seems more likely that he used existing bricks, instead of molding new ones.
Retail US$ prices for Lego-branded kits are usually about $0.10 per piece. So I would expect this kit would cost about $85 if Lego were selling it, implying a +170% premium.
This is intended to be the employee store. it isn't strictly on the internal domain for convenience, but it definitely isn't targeted to non-employees.
Incredible technology - the light-source works by generating droplets of molten tin, firing them through a chamber at around (IIRC) 200mph, and hitting each droplet with two laser pulses... at 50kHz.
How they achieve that using Lego is beyond me.
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