The semiconductor industry is preparing for another major shift in chip manufacturing, and this time, ASML has managed to bring the biggest names in the business along with it.
Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. have committed to adopting ASML’s latest High NA EUV lithography technology, joining Intel in moving toward the next generation of chipmaking equipment.
The development matters because ASML’s machines sit at one of the most important points in the global semiconductor supply chain. The company is the only manufacturer capable of producing EUV lithography systems, which are used to make some of the world’s most advanced chips.
The next generation of EUV is finally gaining traction
ASML’s High NA EUV machines are designed to print increasingly small and complex patterns onto silicon wafers.
The technology comes with a huge price tag. Each machine can cost around $400 million, making the decision to adopt it a significant investment for chipmakers.
Still, the industry is increasingly looking at High NA as an important tool for future generations of processors and memory chips.
- Samsung plans to start using High NA machines for high-volume memory production by 2028.
- TSMC plans to begin high-volume manufacturing with High NA from 2030.
- Intel has already received High NA machines and is working toward using the technology with customers.
For ASML, having these three major customers committed is a major vote of confidence.
TSMC’s decision is particularly important
TSMC had previously been cautious about adopting High NA equipment because of its cost.
The company questioned whether the productivity gains were enough to justify moving to the more expensive machines.
That position is now changing.
TSMC plans to start using High NA systems with the existing 6-inch photomask format in 2030. It also plans to work with ASML toward a new 12-inch photomask technology, with a test line targeted for 2031 and production use with High NA tools expected from 2033.
That makes TSMC’s commitment especially important for ASML.
TSMC accounts for roughly 16% of ASML’s revenue, according to Bloomberg data. Getting one of its biggest customers firmly behind High NA gives ASML greater visibility as it plans the next stage of its business.
Why photomasks suddenly matter so much
The more technical part of the announcement could ultimately have a big impact on chip production.
Chipmakers currently use 6-inch photomasks to transfer circuit patterns onto silicon wafers. ASML and its partners now want to move toward 12-inch masks.
Think of a photomask as a template. The pattern on the mask is repeatedly projected onto a wafer during the chipmaking process.
Moving to larger masks is technically difficult and expensive, but the potential payoff is significant.
ASML says the change could increase the throughput of High NA machines by around 40% while also simplifying parts of the chip design process.
That could translate into better productivity and lower manufacturing costs over time.
AI demand is pushing the industry forward
The timing is no coincidence.
AI infrastructure is demanding increasingly powerful processors and enormous amounts of memory. Companies building data centers are racing to deploy more computing capacity, while chipmakers are trying to increase production of the components needed to support that growth.
The pressure is particularly visible in the memory market, where strong AI data-center demand has contributed to a global shortage and rising prices.
At the same time, chip designers are running into physical and economic limits.
As chips become more sophisticated, manufacturers have increasingly relied on techniques such as stacking chips vertically and using more complicated connections between them.
Those approaches can work, but they also add complexity and cost.
Larger photomasks could give manufacturers another way to improve productivity as chip architectures become more demanding.
Samsung is betting on High NA for memory
Samsung’s commitment is important for another reason.
The company is not only a major logic-chip manufacturer but also one of the world’s largest memory-chip producers.
Its plan to introduce High NA machines for high-volume memory production by 2028 puts it at the front of the transition.
Samsung says it will work with industry partners on the mask technology and supporting infrastructure required for the shift.
That could help accelerate the development of an ecosystem around High NA rather than leaving ASML to solve the technology challenges on its own.
Intel is already ahead on adoption
Intel has already taken delivery of High NA systems as it attempts to expand its manufacturing business beyond producing chips primarily for itself.
The company is also trying to build its position as a contract chip manufacturer, competing for business from external customers.
Intel has been working on the move toward larger masks for more than three years and says it can already offer some of the benefits of High NA technology to potential customers.
That gives Intel an early position as Samsung and TSMC prepare to bring the technology into larger-scale production.
A major win for ASML
For ASML, the announcement is about much more than selling a few expensive machines.
The company needs its customers to adopt High NA because the next stage of semiconductor manufacturing depends on increasingly advanced lithography.
With Intel already using the technology and Samsung and TSMC now committed, ASML has secured backing from its three largest customers for the transition.
That strengthens the case for High NA becoming an important part of mainstream advanced chip production.
It also gives ASML an important role in the next wave of AI-driven semiconductor investment.
What to watch next
The biggest question is no longer whether High NA EUV will be adopted. The focus is shifting toward how quickly it can move into high-volume production and whether the productivity gains justify its enormous cost.
Investors and the semiconductor industry will be watching:
- TSMC’s 2030 High NA rollout
- Samsung’s 2028 memory deployment
- Development of 12-inch photomasks
- Whether the 40% throughput improvement can be achieved at scale
- How quickly AI demand translates into more advanced chip production
- Whether High NA helps reduce the complexity and cost of future chip architectures
The semiconductor race is moving into another phase. ASML has the machines, the chipmakers now appear ready to use them, and the growing demands of AI are providing the pressure to make the transition happen.