Semicon equipment maker ASML ships its latest 'High NA' EUV machine

ASML’s second shipment: ASML, the primary supplier of equipment to computer chip manufacturers, announced on Wednesday the shipment of its latest "High NA" EUV lithography system to a second undisclosed customer. This follows a previous shipment to Intel in December-January, though the identity of the new recipient remains undisclosed. Potential customers speculated to be in the fray include TSMC, a contract chipmaker for Nvidia and Apple, as well as Samsung.

Each of these cutting-edge machines comes with a price tag of approximately €350 million ($370 million) and is anticipated to facilitate the production of smaller and faster chip generations.

This announcement coincided with ASML's first-quarter earnings report, which fell short of expectations.

Both TSMC and Samsung have expressed intentions to integrate the new system into their processes, which is expected to improve the transistor density on individual chips.

Intel, too, has plans to incorporate High NA tools into its production timeline, slated for early use in 2026-2027 with its 14A series chips.

The initial High NA machine, assembled at ASML's headquarters in Veldhoven, Netherlands, is currently undergoing testing by companies adopting EUV technology. ASML has disclosed orders for between 10 and 20 of these advanced machines.

Using beams of light, lithography systems play a crucial role in creating chip circuitry. ASML's first-generation EUV systems, widely used in smartphone and AI chip manufacturing, operate at the "extreme ultraviolet" wavelength, achieving design features as small as 13 nanometers, surpassing the resolution of a virus.

In a noteworthy development, ASML revealed through a post and photo published on Wednesday that the High NA machine has successfully produced features at a resolution of 10 nanometers, nearing its theoretical limit of 8 nanometers as per ASML's website.

(With Reuters inputs)