On June 16, 2023, the ASML logo appeared at the headquarters in Veldhoven, the Netherlands.
Piroschka Van De Wouw | Piroschka Van De Wouw Reuters
ASMLThe largest maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment said on Monday it has partnered with Belgian wafer research firm Imec to open a test laboratory for its high numerical aperture EUV lithography equipment.
The laboratory in Veldhofen, the Netherlands, which has been under construction for many years, will provide leading wafer manufacturers and other equipment and materials supply companies with early access to the 350 million euro ($380 million) tool, the first of its kind. The first tool in .
ASML dominates the market for lithography equipment, a core step in the wafer manufacturing process where light beams are used to create circuits on the wafer.
Among chipmakers, only TSMC, Samsung, Intel and memory specialists SK Hynix and Samsung are able to manufacture using ASML’s current generation of extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, machines.
New high numerical aperture tools can improve resolution by up to 60% and are expected to lead to a new generation of smaller, faster wafers.
ASML reiterated on Monday that it expects customers to begin using the tool for commercial manufacturing in 2025 to 2026.
So far, ASML has shipped only one other test machine to Intel in the United States, which plans to use the tool in its 14A process in 2025.
ASML has orders for more than a dozen units, but its largest customer of EUV equipment, TSMC, said that its A16 chips do not require the use of high-NA tools and are expected to be put into production in 2025.
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