Samsung and TSMC commit to using ASML's High NA EUV machines by 2028 and 2030, joining Intel, with all four agreeing to shift from 6-inch to 12-inch photomasks
ASML Holding NV has won commitments from top chipmakers to use its latest semiconductor production gear, while embarking …
Context & Ripple Effects
High-NA EUV moved from planned shipments in 2024 to an explicit manufacturing timetable. TSMC had said in April that it would defer production use through 2029 to contain costs; its 2030 production commitment turns that deferral into a defined adoption path, while Samsung sets an earlier 2028 target.
The agreement also extends beyond the scanners themselves: ASML, Intel, Samsung and TSMC are aligning on 12-inch photomasks. That common format matters because it links tool deployment to shared mask and process-development work across the leading fabs.
First-order effects
- ASML gains committed production-adoption milestones from Samsung in 2028 and TSMC in 2030, alongside Intel's existing High-NA program.
- Samsung, TSMC and Intel will shift their High-NA process planning from 6-inch to 12-inch photomasks, making mask-format transition part of deployment rather than a separate fab choice.
Second-order effects
- TSMC's defined 2030 timetable narrows the uncertainty left by its earlier cost-driven delay, while Samsung's 2028 target puts it on an earlier High-NA manufacturing schedule than TSMC.
- A common 12-inch mask format gives ASML and the three chipmakers a shared interface for High-NA development, reducing the need for separate mask approaches among those fabs.
Third-order effects
- If the announced schedules hold, High-NA EUV will become a coordinated production standard among the largest logic and memory manufacturers rather than a set of isolated pilot programs.
- The shared mask transition concentrates more leading-edge process compatibility around ASML's High-NA platform, raising the importance of long-term equipment and process-roadmap commitments.
The trend: Leading chipmakers are converting High-NA EUV from early access into coordinated production roadmaps, with common mask standards helping make the technology deployable at scale.