Intel Foundry Deepens Partnership With ASML to Advance High-NA EUV for Larger AI Chips

TradingKey - Intel (INTC)'s foundry business is further deepening its High-NA EUV partnership with ASML (ASML). ASML recently stated that it will collaborate with major chipmakers including Intel, Nvidia (NVDA), TSMC (TSM), and Samsung Electronics to develop larger photomasks to advance next-generation High-NA EUV equipment for manufacturing large AI and data center chips.

Currently, the widely used EUV lithography equipment from ASML can produce large chips with an area of about 800 square millimeters, and high-end data center processors from companies like Nvidia are already approaching this size limit. However, while the new-generation High-NA EUV can achieve finer chip manufacturing, it is currently constrained by smaller photomask sizes, making it difficult to directly produce chips with the same surface area as current large AI chips.

To address this issue, ASML plans to advance larger photomask technology, enabling High-NA EUV to manufacture large data center chips in the future. ASML Chief Technology Officer Marco Pieters stated that if the industry successfully completes this technology upgrade, the production efficiency of High-NA EUV systems is expected to increase by about 40%. The company plans to demonstrate a pilot production line around 2031 and make the technology ready for mass production by 2033.

Intel is one of the chipmakers making the fastest progress in adopting High-NA EUV and a key partner for ASML. In 2024, Intel was the first to install the world's first commercial High-NA EUV system in Oregon, US; in July this year, Intel Foundry further utilized the technology to manufacture certain Panther Lake processors based on the Intel 18A process node and has begun shipping related products.

To date, Intel has processed a cumulative total of more than 1 million 300mm wafers using High-NA EUV, including wafers used for tool validation, R&D, and actual production. At present, the company will continue to use standard-sized photomasks and build larger chips through stitching techniques, while actively participating in the development of next-generation large photomask solutions.

ASML stated that if large photomask technology is successfully implemented, in addition to expanding the chip size that High-NA EUV can produce, it is also expected to boost equipment production efficiency by approximately 40%. The company plans to establish a pilot production line around 2031 and strives to achieve mass production readiness by 2033.