ASML will deliver the first high-NA-EUV chip production machine for mass production in the coming months. This slightly specifies the previously communicated delivery of 2025.
ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet confirmed that ASML will deliver the first modules of the TwinScan EXE:5200 to a customer in the coming months. It has been known for some time that Intel is the first customer.
The top executive said the first EXE:5200 modules have been “finalized,” although the company will continue to work to increase high-NA productivity in the future, including by increasing light source power and wafer staging speed.
On Jan. 19, ASML announced that Intel placed an initial order for delivery of the industry’s first-ever TwinScan EXE:5200 system. This is an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) production device with a high numerical aperture and a productivity of more than 200 wafers per hour. According to a press release, this initial order is part of the long-term partnership between the two companies in the high-NA (High Numerical Aperture) field. Current equipment would potentially run with it as well with some minor modifications.
Intel already pioneered introduction of TwinScan EXE:5000
At its Accelerated event in July, Intel announced it will be the first to deploy High-NA technology to enable next-generation transistor innovations. The chipmaker was the first customer to purchase the TwinScan EXE:5000 system in 2018. The new purchase continues the collaboration between Intel and ASML to bring High-NA EUV into production this year.
Intel is also the first company to have a manufacturing process based on high-NA on its roadmap, 14A, to be introduced in 2026. The machine will be delivered to Intel’s Oregon plant, where the company does the bulk of its R&D work.
Evolutionary step
The EXE platform is an evolutionary step in EUV technology and includes an innovative optical design and significantly faster reticle and wafer stages. The TwinScan EXE:5000 and EXE:5200 systems feature a numerical aperture of 0.55 – a significant precision improvement over previous EUV machines with a 0.33 NA lens. This allows even smaller transistor structures to be etched. Combining the numerical aperture and the wavelength used determines the smallest printable structures.