ASML to Ship First High-NA EUV Tool This Year: $300 Million per Scanner

ASML
(Image credit: ASML)

ASML is on track to ship the industry's first extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography scanner with a 0.55 numerical aperture (NA) this year, the company's chief executive said this week. ASML's Twinscan EXE:5000 machine will be primarily used for development purposes and getting the company's customers familiar with the new technology as well as its capabilities. Commercial usage of High-NA tools is slated for 2025 and beyond. 

"A few suppliers had some difficulties in actually ramping up and also giving us the right level of technological quality, so that led to some delay," said Peter Wennink, chief executive of ASML, in a conversation with Reuters. "But in fact, the first shipment is still this year.

This year ASML will ship its Twinscan EXE:5000 scanner to one undisclosed customer. The client will likely be Intel as the company once publicly disclosed plans to use High-NA scanners for its 18A process technology — but eventually had to opt for a different solution involving EUV double patterning and pattern shaping using Applied Materials' Centura Sculpta system (as commercial Twinscan EXE:5200 scanners would only be available in 2025).

(Image credit: ASML)


Intel will likely adopt ASML's High-NA tools for its post-18A process technologies, whereas its rivals from TSMC and Samsung will use them later in this decade. But those scanners are not going to be cheap. It is estimated that they may cost over $300 million per unit, which will further rise costs of leading-edge fabs.

ASML

(Image credit: ASML)

ASML's contemporary EUV scanners with a 0.33 NA and a 13nm resolution can print chips with metal pitches of around 30nm with single exposure patterning, which is good enough for production nodes like 5nm or 4nm-classes. For everything finer, chipmakers either need to use EUV double patterning or pattern shaping techniques, which is what they are going to be doing for the next couple of years. But beyond that they plan to use ASML's next-generation High-NA EUV scanners with a 0.55 NA and a resolution of around 8nm.

It is necessary to note that 0.55 NA EUV tools will not supplant the current deep ultraviolet (DUV) and EUV equipment in contemporary fabs, just like introduction of 0.33 NA EUV did not phase out DUV lithography. ASML will keep advancing its DUV and 0.33 NA EUV scanners for the foreseeable future. Concurrently, High-NA EUV lithography will play a pivotal role in shrinking transistor dimensions and boosting their performance.

TOPICS
Anton Shilov
Contributing Writer

Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

Read more
ASML EUV machine
Intel has processed 30,000 wafers with High-NA EUV chipmaking tool
Imec
ASML teams up with Imec for sub-2nm process technologies with High-NA EUV chipmaking tools
ASML EUV machine
Rapidus to reportedly install 10 EUV chipmaking tools at its fab in Japan
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
American lab is developing a BAT laser that could enable 'beyond EUV' lithography, provide 10X power efficiency boost
ASML origins
ASML recalls its humble origins in a ‘leaky shed’ in Eindhoven, circa 1984 — it now makes the most cutting-edge chipmaking tools on the planet
ASML
Chinese scientists create 'breakthrough' solid-state DUV laser light source for chipmaking tools
Latest in CPUs
Tech Deals
Our alternate pick for the best gaming CPU is $190 cheaper than the 9800X3D right now - pick up the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X for just $289
ASRock fixes AM5 motherboard by cleaning it
ASRock claims to fix 'burned out' AM5 motherboard by cleaning the socket
Ryzen AI
AMD's Gorgon Point APU line-up breaks cover — Allegedly aiming for a 2026 launch
Nvidia Blackwell Ultra B300
The week in chip news: Nvidia's GTC 2025 blitz, new NVMe HDDs and watercooled SSD, Intel's restructuring begins
AMD
Zen 5-based Threadripper 9000 CPU shipping manifest hints at imminent launch
Ryzen 9 9950X3D
Asus unveils AI Cache Boost — claims up to 19% faster AI workloads on Ryzen 9000 series
Latest in News
RX 9070 XT Sapphire
Lisa Su says Radeon RX 9070-series GPU sales are 10X higher than its predecessors — for the first week of availability
RTX 5070, RX 9070 XT, Arc B580
Real-world GPU prices cost up to twice the MSRP — a look at current FPS per dollar values
Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 5090 AMP Extreme Infinity
Zotac raises RTX 5090 prices by 20% and seemingly eliminates MSRP models
ASRock fixes AM5 motherboard by cleaning it
ASRock claims to fix 'burned out' AM5 motherboard by cleaning the socket
ChatGPT Security
Some ChatGPT users are addicted and will suffer withdrawal symptoms if cut off, say researchers
project-g-assist-nvidia-geforce-rtx-ogimage
Nvidia releases public G-Assist in latest App to provide in-game AI assistance — also introduces DLSS custom scaling factors
  • peachpuff
    China: can we get one too? 🥺
    Reply
  • Order 66
    peachpuff said:
    China: can we get one too? 🥺
    US: No (precedes to release even harsher sanctions)
    Reply
  • thisisaname
    peachpuff said:
    China: can we get one too? 🥺
    They will either steal the blue prints or given there will be papers on how it works reverse engineer from that and create their own.
    Reply
  • jkflipflop98
    These machines are quite a sight to behold. They're pretty much as close to alien level technology as humans can create. The lasers they use to atomize the tin targets are so powerful that you have to liquid cool the mirrors they bounce off of or they'd melt.
    Reply