Intel Foundry and ASML have disclosed their mass production achievements with High Numerical Aperture (High NA) extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology and announced strengthened cooperation for broader industry adoption. Building on the application of High NA EUV to over 1 million wafer processes to date, the companies are also establishing the technical and infrastructure foundation for future scale-up.

 

Intel Foundry and ASML disclosed the status of High NA EUV mass production application and technological progress at the SPIE Photomask Technology + Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Conference held in Monterey, California on the 8th.

 

In the Intel 18A process, layers manufactured with High NA are continuously demonstrating performance equal to or exceeding that of the same layer patterned with the existing NXE platform (0.33 NA specification EUV), according to the two companies.

 

Naga Chandrasekaran, Intel Senior Vice President and Co-Managing Director of Intel Foundry, stated, "Companies developing increasingly complex AI products need manufacturing innovation that can be immediately applied to mass production and is easy to use," and announced plans to continue cooperation with ASML and the industry for near-term support based on 6-inch masks and transition to 6×12-inch masks.

 

Intel Foundry has led the large mask format initiative for over three years.

 

Christophe Fouquet, ASML President and CEO, stated, "Intel Foundry is one of the key drivers of industry-wide High NA adoption, from the adoption of the first commercial EXE system in 2024 to the shipment of the first mass-production logic products manufactured with High NA."

 

Meanwhile, at this conference, Jan van Schoot of ASML will present "Scanner and Mask Requirements to Support Half-Field Stitching" at 11:00 AM PST on the 8th, and Kimberly Pierce of Intel Foundry will present "High NA: Stitching for Mass Production" at 11:20 AM in the same session.