Intel & ASML to usher in a new age of semiconductor lithography technology with the TWINSCAN EXE:5200

ASML Holding N.V., or ASML, and Intel Corporation revealed the partnering companies’ plans to further semiconductor lithography technology by Intel’s purchase of ASML’s TWINSCAN EXE:5200 system—an extreme ultraviolet high-volume production system, offering a high numerical aperture that will deliver more than 200 wafers per hour production levels. The two companies have a longstanding partnership, and both stand to gain from their long-term high numerical aperture framework with a start date of 2025.

Intel and ASML heighten their union to push high numerical aperture technology into manufacturing over the next several years

Intel disclosed last July during the company’s Accelerated event that it intends to deliver the first High-NA technology to promote its plans of transistor innovations. Intel has continued to show interest in High-NA technology when the company was the first to purchase the previous TWINSCAN EXE:5000 system in 2018. With the new purchase from partnering company ASML, Intel continues the drive forth the company’s High-NA EUV manufacturing commencing in 2025.

Intel’s vision and early commitment to ASML’s High-NA EUV technology is proof of its relentless pursuit of Moore’s Law. Compared to the current EUV systems, our innovative extended EUV roadmap delivers continued lithographic improvements at reduced complexity, cost, cycle time and energy that the chip industry needs to drive affordable scaling well into the next decade.

— Martin van den Brink, ASML President and Chief Technical Officer

The EXE medium by ASML is a forwarding phase in EUV technology and contains a unique optics design and incredibly quicker reticle and wafer stages. The TWINSCAN EXE:5000 and EXE:5200 systems present a 0.55 numerical aperture — a precision boost from previous EUV machines with a 0.33 numerical aperture lens — to allow higher-resolution patterning for increasingly shorter transistor elements. The numerical aperture of the system, merged with the wavelength utilized, defines the most diminutive printable attribute.

Intel’s focus is to stay at the forefront of semiconductor lithography technology and we’ve been building our EUV expertise and capacity over the last year. Working closely with ASML, we will harness High-NA EUV’s high-resolution patterning as one of the ways we continue Moore’s Law and maintain our strong history of progression down to the smallest of geometries.

— Dr. Ann Kelleher, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Technology Development, Intel Corporation

EUV 0.55 NA has been developed to enable numerous future nodes beginning in 2025 as the industry’s initial deployment, followed by memory technologies at similar viscosity. At the 2021 Investor Day, ASML communicated its EUV path and revealed that High-NA technology is anticipated to start supporting production manufacturing starting in 2025. Today’s statement is uniform with this plan from the two companies.

Source: ASML

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