AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -On Monday, ASML, the leading semiconductor manufacturing equipment provider, announced the opening of a test laboratory. Collaborating with Imec, the Belgium chip research firm, ASML inaugurated the facility for High NA EUV lithography equipment.
Years in development, the laboratory in Veldhoven, Netherlands, provides early access to the groundbreaking equipment. Chipmakers and supply companies can now collaborate with the 350 million euro tool.
ASML holds a dominant position in the lithography equipment market, crucial for chip manufacturing. It employs light beams to fabricate chip circuitry.
TSMC, Samsung, Intel, SK Hynix, and Samsung are the only chipmakers capable of using ASML’s latest EUV machines. These machines are crucial for advanced chip manufacturing.
The new High NA tool allows for up to 60% better resolution, and is expected to lead to new generations of smaller, faster chips.
ASML repeated on Monday that it expects customers to begin commercial manufacturing with the tool in 2025-2026.
To date ASML has only shipped one other test machine, to Intel in the United States, which plans to use the tool in its 14A process in 2025.
ASML has orders for more than a dozen, though TSMC, its biggest customer for EUV equipment, has said it does not need to use High NA tools for its A16 chips, expected to enter production in 2025.
Moreover, the open laboratory concept allows for collaboration with industry partners and academic institutions worldwide. This fosters a dynamic environment for knowledge exchange and innovation in chip manufacturing. ASML chip-making laboratory at Imec is not only a hub for cutting-edge research but also a catalyst for the future growth of the semiconductor industry.
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