Samsung Reportedly Purchasing Two ASML High-NA EUV Tools for Mass Production by 1H26
2025-10-16
According to The Korea Economic Daily, Samsung is reportedly set to receive its first high-numerical-aperture (high-NA) EUV scanner — the Twinscan EXE:5200B — later this year, followed by a second unit in the first half of 2026. While the company already operates a research-use high-NA EUV tool at its Hwaseong campus, the new systems will mark its first acquisitions intended for mass production, the report adds.
The report notes that rival TSMC is currently testing R&D versions of the system but has not yet deployed them for commercial-scale manufacturing. SK hynix confirmed in September to have ordered a production-grade high-NA EUV system, as the report states, citing sources.
Samsung is reportedly planning to use its high-NA EUV machines for 2nm foundry production, which will manufacture the Exynos 2600 AP and Tesla’s next-generation AI chips, according to sources cited by the report. The tools will also support the company’s future vertical channel transistor (VCT) DRAM — high-performance, low-power memory expected to enter mass production around 2027, the report adds.
The company is investing 1.1 trillion won ($773 million) in the two machines. As the report highlights, the high-NA EUV system can pattern circuits about 1.7 times finer than current EUV tools, thanks to its upgraded numerical aperture — a metric indicating how efficiently the lens captures light — which has been increased from 0.33 to 0.55.
High-NA EUV Deployment Plans at TSMC and Intel
As noted by The JoongAng, TSMC intends to use its current EUV tools through the 2nm node and begin incorporating high-NA EUV systems starting with the 1.4nm process. Meanwhile, Intel is reportedly expanding its order of high-NA EUV machines from ASML to two units, up from one, according to Wccftech. The report adds that the company is ramping up investment in the Dutch chipmaker’s advanced lithography tools as it goes “all in” on its 14A process. Risk production of the process is planned for 2027, while high-volume manufacturing is expected in 2028, as noted by BITS & CHIPS.
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