But ultimately, the decision to go with a particular technology will be driven by not only the ability to process wafers but also economics, according to Mark Durcan, president and chief operating officer of Micron Technology Inc. (Boise, Ida.)

However, the cost trends in lithography are going in the wrong direction. ''The trend has not been great'' in terms of tool costs in relation to resolution, Durcan said during a keynote at the SPIE Advanced Lithography conference here on Monday.

''At the end of the day, the cost of what we're doing is becoming more expensive,'' he said.

At the 32-nm node, the market is in somewhat agreement that 193-nm immersion with double-patterning will be in mainstream product fabs. Beyond that, there are no clear choices in the arena.

Like all NAND flash suppliers, Micron is interested in the developments of extreme ultravoilet (EUV) lithography. Most NAND vendors are banking on the technology in the future.

EUV was required at the 32-nm node, ''but it will not happen,'' he told EE Times in an interview. Micron's COO has not given up hope on oft-delayed EUV and said that the next ''24 months'' are critical for the technology, he said.

Other technologies are less promising for mainstream IC production. ''High-index is interesting, but it has little applications,'' he said. ''Nano-imprint is potentially useful in specific applications. Maskless is a long, long ways from being commercialized.''