TSMC and Samsung Electronics both committed to ASML's high-NA EUV lithography systems on September 8, sending the Dutch equipment maker's US shares up more than 2 percent in pre-market trading and securing order visibility for its most advanced product line.
ASML's high-NA EUV lithography tools won adoption commitments from both TSMC and Samsung Electronics, lifting the Dutch equipment maker's US shares more than 2 percent in pre-market trading on September 8.
"As the industry enters a new era driven by artificial intelligence, close collaboration with our customers becomes even more important," Christophe Fouquet, president and chief executive of ASML, said in the joint announcement with Samsung.
Samsung plans to become the first chipmaker to deploy high-NA EUV in DRAM high-volume manufacturing by 2028, later extending the technology to its 1.4-nanometer leading-edge logic processes. TSMC, the world's largest foundry, said it will use conventional EUV for its A13 process scheduled for mass production in 2029, adopting high-NA only once productivity and cost-effectiveness are established. Both companies joined ASML's Large Mask Consortium to develop 12-inch photomask standards, replacing the 6-inch format used since the 1980s.
The dual commitments secure order flow for ASML's most expensive product line — high-NA EUV systems cost roughly 500 billion won (about $370 million) each, approximately double conventional EUV machines. ASML holds a monopoly on EUV lithography, the only technology capable of patterning the most advanced logic and memory chips.
Samsung's timeline is the more aggressive of the two. The company brought its first high-NA EUV machine to South Korea last year and now plans to apply the technology to DRAM production starting in 2028 — an industry first — before expanding to 1.4-nanometer foundry processes. By running large wafer volumes early, Samsung aims to work through yield and quality issues before high-NA becomes essential across the industry.
"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.
High-NA EUV raises the numerical aperture of projection optics from 0.33 to 0.55, a 66 percent increase that allows finer circuit patterns to be printed. The transition to 12-inch photomasks — up from the 6-inch format that has defined the industry since the 1980s — is expected to reduce the number of exposures required per wafer, boosting throughput. ASML projects productivity gains of about 40 percent with the larger mask format.
TSMC's approach differs sharply. At its Technology Symposium in April, the Taiwanese foundry said it would rely on conventional EUV for its A13 process at 1.3 nanometers, scheduled for mass production in 2029. The A13 node keeps the basic structure of the preceding A14 generation while shrinking chip area by about 6 percent, indicating TSMC judged existing lithography sufficient for that node.
TSMC has joined the 12-inch mask development effort alongside Samsung, but its strategy is to maximize the useful life of conventional EUV before committing to high-NA at scale. The company said it will adopt high-NA once productivity and cost-effectiveness are sufficiently proven.
The divergent strategies reflect different competitive pressures. Samsung, trailing TSMC in foundry market share, needs early manufacturing experience to close the gap. TSMC, with its dominant position, can afford to wait for the technology to mature. For ASML, the outcome is favorable either way: both companies have committed to the 12-inch mask standard and to high-NA adoption on their own timelines.
ASML shares trade on Euronext Amsterdam and the NASDAQ under the symbol ASML. The company employs more than 44,000 people and is the sole supplier of EUV systems worldwide, with each machine costing upwards of $350 million. The commitments from TSMC and Samsung extend ASML's revenue visibility well into the next decade as AI-driven demand pushes chipmakers toward ever-smaller process nodes.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
