GoKawiil
Tech News
ASML has partnered with Intel, Samsung, and TSMC to accelerate industry adoption of larger 6×12-inch photomasks, a change needed to fully exploit High-NA EUV lithography. The larger reticle size would let chipmakers print large dies in a single exposure rather than stitching together smaller patterned sections, addressing a field-size limitation created by High-NA's anamorphic optics.
ASML is developing a larger 12-inch mask format for its next-generation High-NA EUV lithography systems, letting them print chips as large as those made with current EUV tools. The company expects a pilot line by 2031 and high-volume production by 2033, with CTO Marco Pieters saying the shift could boost system productivity by 40% if the industry adopts it together.
Samsung Electronics and TSMC have committed to deploying ASML's newest high-numerical-aperture EUV lithography systems, machines that can cost up to $400 million each. Both companies join Intel in adopting a related technical change expected to increase chip output on these machines by roughly 40 percent. Samsung plans to use the tools for memory chip production by 2028, while TSMC intends to apply the technology to its most advanced chips for customers like AMD, Apple, Nvidia and Qualcomm.
Intel shares surged 9% Tuesday, pushing above the $95 level from its recent equity offering, after reports that the company plans to raise CPU prices in October and news that its foundry business is advancing High NA EUV lithography with over 1 million wafers processed. CNBC's Jim Cramer included Intel among his six top stock picks, while comments from President Trump over the weekend eased worries that the government might soon sell its 10% stake in the company.
TSMC has confirmed plans to bring High-NA EUV lithography, using 0.55 numerical aperture optics, into high-volume manufacturing by 2030, likely for its A10 or A11 nodes. The company plans to use standard 6x6-inch photomasks initially, followed by a pilot line for larger 6x12-inch photomasks in 2031, aiming for full production with those masks by 2033.
ASML announced that Samsung and TSMC will follow Intel in adopting its High NA extreme ultraviolet lithography systems, with Samsung targeting DRAM production by 2028 and TSMC planning advanced node use by 2030. The three chipmakers also launched a joint effort to shift from six-inch to 12-inch photomasks, a change expected to reach advanced production by 2033.
Samsung and TSMC, the world's two largest chipmakers, have confirmed plans to deploy ASML's High NA extreme ultraviolet lithography systems, machines that can cost roughly $400 million each and etch finer circuit patterns onto silicon wafers. Samsung plans to use the tools for DRAM production starting in 2028 and expand its scaling roadmap by 2030, while TSMC expects broader adoption driven by increasingly complex transistor designs needed for AI chips. Both companies join Intel as customers of the technology.
Intel says it has run more than one million 300-mm wafers through its High-NA EUV scanners since assembling its first tool roughly two and a half years ago. The company is currently using these tools, including EXE:5000 and EXE:5200B systems, to produce Panther Lake chips on its 18A process, while also developing larger 6x12-inch photomasks that would let High-NA tools expose full-size chip fields without needing to stitch two half-fields together.