Recently, the world's leading semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML of the Netherlands shocked its latest research and development results - a cutting-edge manufacturing equipment called High-NA (high numerical aperture) extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machine. This one is worth up to 3500 million euros (currently equivalent to about 27200 million yuan), with its huge scale comparable to two Airbus A320 passenger planes, ASML is regarded by ASML as a key equipment for chipmakers to participate in the AI technology boom.
The intricate High-NA EUV lithography machine has already received an order from industry giant Intel Corporation, with the first prototype successfully delivered to the D1X plant in Oregon at the end of last year. According to the plan, Intel will start the practical application of the system on the production line by the end of 2025. The new generation of lithography machine can achieve an etching accuracy of only 8 nanometers on semiconductor wafers, which is nearly 1 17x, a breakthrough improvement means that a single chip can accommodate a larger number of transistors, dramatically increasing computing speed and storage capacity, which is critical to meeting the demands of growing AI workloads.
In an earlier interview with Bloomberg, ASML CEO Peter Wennink made it clear: "The development of artificial intelligence has an endless thirst for massive computing power and data storage. I don't think such a leap forward would have been possible without ASML's technical support. And our High-NA EUV lithography machine is the core driving force for this trend. "As the only supplier that can provide the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, ASML's product sales and order status are regarded as an important barometer of the prosperity of the entire industry. Just in the most recent quarter, the company received a record order for top-of-the-line EUV lithography machines, showing the high expectations and optimistic prospects of major customers, including Intel, Samsung Electronics and TSMC, for this cutting-edge technology.
During a visit to Fairhofen, the Netherlands, ASML spokesperson Monique Mols revealed the enormous challenges involved in installing the 150,000-kilogram super machine. It took a total of six months from unloading to installation and commissioning, using up to 250 containers and 250 engineers. It is worth noting that since 2018, the semiconductor industry's demand for increased processing power has reached an unprecedented height as generative AI applications such as ChatGPT recently launched by OpenAI have attracted the most attention worldwide. ASML has been selling low numerical aperture EUV lithography machines for many years before that, and the price is 1700 million euros (currently equivalent to about 13 yuan.)2.1 billion yuan).
In conclusion, ASML's high-NA EUV lithography machine not only represents a major breakthrough in the microelectronics manufacturing process, but also paves the way for the urgent need for high-performance chips in the field of artificial intelligence in the future. Through the commercial deployment of this advanced technology, ASML has not only consolidated its leading position in the global semiconductor equipment market, but also driven the entire industry to a higher level and more refined process to a large extent. With the continuous innovation and popularization of artificial intelligence technology, such high-end chip manufacturing tools are expected to become an important cornerstone to support a new round of scientific and technological revolution.