By Peter Weiss
An obscure optical effect that had faded from view for more than a century suddenly has become a hot topic for microelectronics producers. New studies show that this effect, called intrinsic birefringence, could incapacitate the next generation of factory tools for making chips.
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Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Md., began circulating this revelation in May. It probably will force engineers to redesign multimillion-dollar machines already slated for production, they say.