Nanofabrication is an important area of interest for me. Currently, chips are made by a custom-made mask that then imprints the design over a wafer. (simpified version) A few companies make the masks. People interested in reducing odds of subversion of our hardware would like more control over the process. Making the mask ourselves from our design would be pretty cool. Need the tech to do it.
This seems like a step in the right direction. I'm a bit out of my depth so I can't say how far. I'm also ignoring OPC issues for now. The idea is that making at least our own 180-90nm masks could be really useful.