Intel received a high NA EUV order for the first time, why is TSMC still waiting?
Just after Intel announced the acquisition of ASML's world's first EUV lithography machine with high nanosecond order, this news has aroused great attention in the industry. But at the same time, TSMC, the current semiconductor production giant, did not take action, but adopted a wait-and-see strategy.
According to various sources, TSMC plans to achieve large-scale production of the 2 nm process from 2025 to 2027, and will launch 14 nm and 1 nm processes, with 1 nm processes not being mass-produced until 2030. TSMC will not be at 2 nm and 1High NA EUV lithography is used in the 4 nm process until the 1 nm node in 2030.
This shows that TSMC's demand for high NA EUV lithography machines is not as strong as Intel's. For the major innovation of lithography technology, TSMC has adopted a side-by-side attitude, which is very puzzling.
First, where Intel's passion for high NA EUV lithography came from.
High NA extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is a state-of-the-art process that enables high-precision, high-quality EUV lithography. By increasing the parameters of the lens, high NA EUV lithography allows the incident beam to pass in a higher direction, resulting in higher image resolution.
Through the research of this project, it is expected to achieve high-precision and low-energy devices based on high NA extreme ultraviolet lithography process, which will lay a solid foundation for future research and application in related fields. So Intel got the lead on this device, got ahead of it, and got this device.
However, in the face of such attractive technology, why is TSMC hesitant? The reason for this is very necessary.
As a leading company in the world, TSMC is the focus of the world's attention every step of its move. Since na-type extreme ultraviolet lithography is a highly innovative technology, TSMC will continue to wait and see, and there are many considerations in this.
i.Due to cost.
NA-type EUV lithography is a very expensive lithography process, and it is said that a new NA-type EUV lithography machine costs up to 400 million yuan. In addition, the cost of manufacturing chips using this process is very high, and the price of 3nm chips has reached 20,000 yuan, while the price of next-generation chips will increase by about 50%.
If you need to re-use a higher** lithographic unit, the cost will increase. The high cost makes TSMC have to carefully weigh whether to adopt this technology.
2. Unknown market conditions.
Although there are many advantages to high n-value extreme ultraviolet lithography, the current market demand is not clearly understood. Moreover, with the decline in sales, manufacturers' willingness to buy new chips has decreased, which has also had a certain impact on TSMC's adoption of this new technology.
In addition, due to the inconsistent timing and strategy of each manufacturer to release EUV high nm lithography equipment, their market demand is also different.
As an industry leader, TSMC must keep up with market development and change its technology introduction strategy in a timely manner to meet market demand. Because the current market conditions are still unclear, TSMC has chosen to wait and see in order to grasp more opportunities and maintain its competitiveness.
iii.Assess the recurring dangers of the technology and the increase in production capacity.
With the advancement of semiconductor technology, more advanced process technologies will be proposed in the future. TSMC must pay attention to the risk of technology iteration to prevent future disadvantages in the market due to early adoption of new technologies. As an industry leader, TSMC is well aware of the dangers posed by rereplication processes.
This requires TSMC to fully consider the potential risks brought about by the iteration of technology when introducing new technologies to ensure that it continues to be at the forefront of the industry.
In addition, TSMC's revenue and profit are mainly due to advanced technology, while TSMC has stopped some extreme ultraviolet lithography facilities last year due to its serious lack of advanced process capabilities. If TSMC continues to purchase NA-type EUV lithography machines, TSMC will bear huge equipment depreciation costs.
TSMC takes"Wait and see"It is also because of its high technical threshold and high process technology requirements for high NA EUV lithography machines. Overall, TSMC has taken a high-NA extreme ultraviolet lithography process innovation"Wait and see"There are a variety of considerations.
However, this also reflects TSMC's prudence and determination in the industry, and also reflects the complexity and instability of the semiconductor industry in terms of technological innovation and market competition. So why do you think TSMC is so eager to buy a high-NA EUV lithography machine instead of competing with Intel?