Recently, the Dutch lithography machine giant ASML showed the latest generation of High NA EUV lithography machine for the first time, which is regarded as the world's most advanced lithography technology and can manufacture chips below 2 nanometers. The sheer size of the High NA EUV lithography machine was impressive, with a complete system the size of a double-decker bus, weighing 150 tons, and assembling it required 250 engineers and six months.
It is reported that the price of this new generation of lithography machine is as high as 3500 million euros, or about 2.7 billion yuan, will become the necessary equipment for the world's three major wafer fabs to achieve large-scale mass production of advanced processes below 2nm. It has been reported that Intel was the first to obtain the world's first High NA EUV lithography machine in December last year, while orders from TSMC and Samsung will be delivered as early as 2026.
However, this high-performance lithography machine is twice as high as the current EUV lithography machine, resulting in a significant increase in equipment costs. This has also become one of the reasons why domestic manufacturers are cautious about introducing High NA EUV lithography machines. While this technology will push chip manufacturing to an advanced sub-2nm process, its high cost also makes companies weigh twice.
Peter Wennink, CEO of ASML, said that the massive computing and data storage needs of AI will drive the development of lithography technology, and ASML has also received a record number of orders for EUV equipment. However, it will take time for this technology to become widespread, and chip manufacturing below 2nm needs to consider technology maturity, cost-effectiveness, and customer needs.
Different manufacturers have different paces for the introduction of High NA EUV lithography machines. Intel has installed the world's first High NA EUV lithography machine in December 2023, while TSMC and Samsung have taken a relatively conservative approach and are expected to introduce it as early as 2026. Industry insiders believe that the High NA EUV lithography machine will usher in an inflection point in 2026-2027, and is expected to become the mainstream equipment for sub-2nm processes.
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