Samsung and TSMC to Adopt ASML's $400M High-NA EUV Machines
Samsung and TSMC will adopt ASML's high-NA EUV machines, joining Intel in a change to boost chip output by 40%.
According to Ars Technica, citing Bloomberg, the announcements signal the semiconductor industry's broader embrace of high-NA EUV photolithography, a technology offered only by ASML at up to $400 million per machine. The approach enables chip designers to build smaller features on silicon wafers, potentially yielding more powerful and efficient next-generation chips for AI data centers and consumer electronics such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
ASML's EUV machines use powerful laser light to imprint circuit patterns layer by layer. High-NA EUV extends this with even shorter-wavelength light, allowing finer patterns to be created. Samsung and TSMC's adoption follows Intel's earlier agreement to the process change, a sign that leading chipmakers are moving together toward the next generation of chipmaking equipment.