ASML has delivered the first high-NA EUV lithography machine to Intel, which will be used for the manufacture of chips with processes below 2nm. TSMC and Samsung will also receive their deliveries in the future, reaching processes around 1nm.
What comes next? Reports say that ASML is researching the next generation Hyper NA (High Numerical Aperture) lithography machines to continue Moore’s Law.
The first generation of ASML’s low NA EUV lithography machines had a numerical aperture (NA) of only 0.33, with a critical dimension (CD) of 13.5nm, a minimum metal pitch of 26nm, and an interconnect pitch of about 25-30nm under single exposure, suitable for manufacturing 4/5nm processes.
Using double patterning, the interconnect pitch can be reduced to 21-24nm, capable of manufacturing 3nm processes, like TSMC’s N3B.
The second generation EUV lithography machine increased to 0.55 NA, reducing the critical dimension to 8nm, with a minimum metal pitch of about 16nm, capable of manufacturing 3-1nm processes, such as Intel planning its first use at the 1.4nm node.
ASML CTO Martin van den Brink confirmed in an interview that ASML is investigating and developing Hyper NA technology to continue advancing lithography metrics, with the NA value expected to exceed 0.7, aiming for completion around 2030.
He stated that this new type of EUV lithography machine is suitable for manufacturing logic processor chips, with lower costs than high-NA double patterning, and is also usable for DRAM memory chip production.
ASML has disclosed that the cost of low NA lithography machines is at least 183 million USD, with high NA machines starting at 380 million USD.
According to the roadmap of the Microelectronics Research Center (IMEC) for the cover image, around 2030, it should be possible to advance to the A7 0.7nm process, followed by A5 0.5nm, A3 0.3nm, and A2 0.2nm processes, but that would be around 2036.
Related:
- Leading 2nm EUV Device by ASML: Twinscan NXE: 3800E
- The NA and EUV Lithography Resolution Conundrum Unveiled
- TSMC 2nm Innovation: Why Apple, Qualcomm, NVIDIA Avoid It
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