Taiwanese giant TSMC will receive its first batch of high NA EUV lithography equipment from ASML in late 2024, marking the transition to the next generation process.

TSMC Decides To Switch To High NA Equipment Amid Market Competition, Likely To Leverage It With A14 & Ahead Processes

Utilizing high NA equipment is now seen as a “premium” for chipmakers, and it seems the “three” big players in the semiconductor race, Samsung, Intel, and TSMC, are all looking to leverage high ASML technology. -NA equipment. Interestingly, initially, TSMC was said to have no plans to acquire ASML’s high NA technology, primarily due to the high costs associated with integrating equipment and accommodating machines at TSMC’s facilities in Taiwan. However, previous reports revealed that TSMC’s high NA plans are right on track, as they want to maintain balance in the industry.

Nikkei Asia reports that TSMC equipment with high NA content is expected to ship this year, and the Taiwanese giant will probably be one of the first companies to access such equipment. It is said that TSMC will receive ASML’s Twinscan EXE:5000 High-NA lithography equipment, which has a resolution of 8nm and an EUV light wavelength of 13.5nm. This system will allow chipmakers to produce chips 1.7 times smaller, and transistor density will increase by up to 2.9 times. ASML says that Twins can EXE:5000 has the highest productivity in the industry, so for the Taiwanese giant, getting high NA outright is an absolute win.

However, an interesting fact to note is that one part of this machine has cost TSMC up to around $350 million, which is a huge amount. This is why it is said that high NA is currently the “holy grail” of the semiconductor market. Considering that Intel plans to acquire five to six units of high NA EUV machines, Team Blue is indeed going all out with its next generation process.

In terms of implementation, TSMC’s high NA EUV will show its magic with the company’s 1.4nm (A14) process, which is slated for mass production in 2027. Specifically focusing on the AI ​​hype, TSMC plans to increase competition in the technology field. markets using high NA. With competitors adopting a similar approach, it would not be wrong to say that future nodes will definitely become much more interesting in terms of the performance gap between them.