Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) (2330.TW), the world's largest chip foundry, is still assessing when to incorporate ASML's advanced High-NA EUV lithography machines into future process nodes. These machines, priced at nearly $400 million each, offer significant speed and precision advantages but come with a steep price. Kevin Zhang, a TSMC executive, mentioned that the company has not yet found a compelling reason to use these machines for their upcoming A14 process and its enhanced versions. Zhang highlighted that the A14 enhancements could achieve major breakthroughs without High-NA, as the technical team is exploring ways to extend the life of existing low-NA EUV equipment.
Competitor Intel plans to use High-NA EUV in its future 14A process to revitalize its chip manufacturing business and compete more effectively with TSMC. However, Intel also offers customers the option to use more mature technologies. ASML's CEO Christophe Fouquet indicated that mass production testing for High-NA equipment is expected between 2026 and 2027, before evaluating its use in the most advanced process nodes. Last year, Zhang stated that TSMC would not use High-NA equipment in its A16 process due to its high cost.
As of now, ASML has delivered five of these complex machines, weighing 180 tons each, to three global customers: Intel, TSMC, and Samsung.
