At the beginning of 2022, ASML announced that its long-term cooperation with Intel has entered a new phase, and the two parties will work together to advance the cutting-edge technology of semiconductor lithography. Intel has also placed an order with ASML for the industry's first Twinscan EXE:5200 system, a high-volume extreme ultraviolet (EUV) production system with a high numerical aperture (High-NA) and more than 200 wafers per hour, forming the framework for a long-term High-NA EUV technology collaboration between the two companies. 
According to TomsHardware, ASML has delivered the industry's first High-NA EUV lithography machine to Intel. Beginning this week, the new equipment will be shipped from Feldhofen, the Netherlands, to Intel's semiconductor technology R&D facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, USA, and installed in the coming months. The volume of the High-NA EUV lithography machine is very large, requiring the use of 13 containers and 250 crates for transportation. It is understood that the cost of each High-NA EUV lithography machine is about $300 million to $400 million. In 2018, Intel purchased the Twinscan Exe:5000 system from ASML to use it as a testing machine to better understand the use of High-NA EUV devices and gain valuable experience. The Intel 18A process is scheduled for mass production in 2025, and Intel will introduce High-NA EUV lithography technology, which will be ahead of rivals TSMC and Samsung. The High-NA EUV lithography machine will provide 055 numerical aperture, the same as the previous equipped with 0Compared to the EUV system of the 33 NA lens, the accuracy will be improved, and higher resolution patterning can be achieved to achieve smaller transistor characteristics.
Because there are many differences between the next-generation lithography equipment and the legacy products, and a lot of infrastructure modifications are required, early deployment may give Intel a competitive advantage. On the one hand, there is more time for technical adjustments, and on the other hand, more time for infrastructure modification to better adapt to the use of High-NA EUV lithography machines.