Samsung Electronics (005930) will develop high-NA extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology with ASML, the Dutch company that is the world's largest maker of lithography equipment. Samsung is joining an effort to set a standard that would shift the industry from the 6-inch photomask, used since the 1980s, to a 12-inch version, aiming to build a DRAM mass-production system based on high-NA EUV equipment ahead of rivals. The company plans to apply high-NA EUV machines to DRAM production starting in 2028 and later extend the technology to 1.4-nanometer leading-edge logic processes to advance its foundry business.
Samsung said on the 8th that it will join the Large Mask Consortium led by ASML to conduct joint research on 12-inch photomasks and help develop a standard.
A photomask is essentially a stamping plate engraved with a semiconductor circuit pattern. When lithography equipment shines light through the mask, the pattern is transferred onto a silicon wafer. As circuits become finer and more complex, the precision of the mask determines chip performance and yield.
Enlarging the mask area is intended to offset the limits of EUV. High-NA EUV has a numerical aperture 66% higher than conventional EUV, allowing finer circuit patterns. Replacing the 6-inch masks now in use with 12-inch masks would raise fab productivity and lower chip manufacturing costs.
High-NA EUV machines are said to cost about 500 billion won each, roughly twice the price of conventional EUV systems. Using larger photomasks reduces the number of exposures required, increasing wafer throughput. ASML expects the productivity of high-NA EUV equipment to improve by about 40% with the adoption of large masks.
TSMC of Taiwan, the world's largest foundry company, has been slower to apply high-NA EUV in mass production. At its own Technology Symposium in April, TSMC said it would use conventional EUV rather than high-NA EUV for its next-generation 1.3-nanometer (A13) foundry process, scheduled for mass production in 2029. The A13 process keeps the basic structure of the preceding A14 generation while shrinking chip area by about 6%, indicating that TSMC judged existing lithography sufficient for A13 production.
TSMC said the same day that it will join ASML's 12-inch mask development, as Samsung will. Its strategy, however, is not to rush into mass production but to make maximum use of conventional EUV and adopt high-NA EUV once its productivity and cost-effectiveness are sufficiently established.
Samsung is putting more weight on securing mass-production experience early. After bringing in the first high-NA EUV machine in South Korea last year, the company is now joining the 12-inch mask standard effort, accelerating its production preparations. In 2028, it plans to become the first in the industry to apply high-NA EUV to DRAM production, later expanding it to the 1.4-nanometer leading-edge foundry process. By running large volumes of wafers and verifying yield and quality, the company aims to reduce trial and error by the time high-NA EUV becomes essential.
"Based on innovative technology and strong partnerships, Samsung Electronics will continue its leadership in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, including foundry and memory, and will further strengthen cooperation with ASML to build the technological foundation for 'next AI,'" said Jun Young-hyun, vice chairman and chief executive of Samsung Electronics.
