The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded approximately 950,000 euros to an Eindhoven University of Technology project investigating more sustainable ways to etch chips with atomic-scale precision. Oxford Instruments Plasma Technologies and Prodrive Technologies will collaborate on the project, helping connect the research to industrial etching processes. The NWO Open Technology Program was awarded to Julian Held, Erwin Kessels and Adrie Mackus of TUE’s Department of Applied Physics and Science Education. Credit: TUE/Bart van Overbeeke Atomic layer etching removes material in controlled cycles, allowing chipmakers to etch atomically thin layers with high precision. The Eindhoven team will be looking at hydrogen fluoride (HF) plasmas as a novel way to achieve more accurate and selective etching, while reducing the environmental footprint of current processes.