According to Reuters, semiconductor equipment giant ASML’s next-generation High-NA EUV equipment is priced at about US$400 million, equivalent to 2.7 billion yuan. It is reported that the device has higher precision and uses more parts. The model is 30% larger than the previous generation, and the size is like a double-decker bus.
To overcome the technical challenges, ASML is establishing a test laboratory together with IMEC, the world’s largest microelectronics R&D institution. It is reported that the ASML prototype will be completed in the first half of 2023.
ASML said externally that it has received 5 orders for scheduled High-NA EUV in the fourth quarter of 2021.
ASML in the Netherlands is a global leader in the field of lithography machines, and the only company in the world with EUV lithography technology lithography machines. The High-NA exposure technology promoted by ASML is the key to continuing Moore’s Law.
The key to the realization of advanced chip technology lies in the semiconductor equipment for manufacturing wafers. The lithography machine is the equipment with the most technical difficulty and the highest cost in the semiconductor equipment. The current semiconductor process has been advanced to 3 nanometers, and TSMC is hitting 1 nanometer. To realize these advanced processes, high-end lithography machines are inseparable.
In the field of global foundry, TSMC and Samsung are the only two semiconductor manufacturing giants in the world that compete in advanced technology. ASML high-end lithography machine is also a weapon for the two sides to compete in the future. It is not difficult to judge that TSMC and Samsung are the first customers of ASML’s high-end lithography machine.