ORYeL-7 (Experienced REntgenovsky Lithograph)

Chronicle

2026: Development of the project for 5 billion rubles

In Russia, a project is being developed to create an experimental station for X-ray lithography "ORYeL-7" (Experimental REntgenovsky Lithograph). The project cost estimate is 4.5-5 billion rubles. This was announced by the head of the laboratory of the Institute of Semiconductor Physics of the SB RAS Dmitry Shcheglov on February 18, 2026.

According to Dmitry Shcheglov, the station is planned to be located on the basis of the Siberian Ring Photon Source Center (SKIF) under construction in the Novosibirsk Region. As of February 2026, a preliminary terms of reference for the preliminary design of the station has been developed.

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Фото: Freepik

The development of lithography technologies using deep ultraviolet light (wavelength 13.5 nm) is approaching the physical limit. Further reduction of technological standards (the size of microchip structures) requires an increase in the number of layers and an increase in the cost of production. The use of X-ray radiation will allow you to switch to angstrom technological standards, at least for experimental developments.

To implement the technology, a number of problems have to be solved: to create optics that can capture a sufficient number of photons and focus them with the necessary depth, to develop suitable photographic patterns (masks) and more. Dmitry Shcheglov noted that plans to implement X-ray lithography technology in the coming years have already been announced by the American startup Substrate. In addition to microelectronics, the technology can be used to create sensors for prompt diagnosis of diseases and modification of materials.

Andrei Bukhtiyarov, deputy director of the SCIF TsKP for scientific work, clarified that the ORYeL-7 station is not on the creation lists until 2035. Currently, more than 25 proposals have been received at 23 stations of the second stage. Conceptual projects of three stations ("Protein," "Engineering Materials Science," "Spectroscopy and Metrology of the Soft X-ray Range") are already ready. The CCP development plan for the next five years may be approved by the end of 2026.

The construction of the synchrotron SKIF (TsKP "SKIF" - a separate division of the Institute of Catalysis of the SB RAS) began in August 2021 in the science city of Koltsovo. The technical launch of the plant took place on December 22, 2025. The launch with seven stations of the first stage is scheduled for 2026.

In total, it is planned to build 30 experimental stations at SKIF. It will be the world's first Generation 4 + synchrotron radiation source with an energy of 3 GeV. The initial cost of the project was 37.1 billion rubles, the final - more than 50 billion rubles^[1]

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