Intel starts using ASML’s High NA EUV technology to produce chips

Intel Corp. has started using ASML Holding NV’s newest lithography hardware to produce processors.

The Dutch chipmaking equipment maker disclosed the milestone today. The announcement coincided with the release of its quarterly earnings report, which topped expectations across the board.

Lithography machines use light to etch transistors into silicon wafers. ASML is the world’s largest supplier of such systems. The company said today that Intel has started using its newest generation of lithography machines, the TwinScan EXE series, to make chips.

A lithography machine’s capabilities are influenced by its so-called numeric aperture, or NA. That’s a number used to describe the angles at which a system generates light beams. The larger the NA number, the smaller the transistors the system can make. Small transistors, in turn, make it possible to produce faster and more power-efficient chips.

ASML’s EXE machines have a 51% higher NA number than their predecessors. That so-called High NA EUV architecture enables them to etch silicon patterns with a resolution of eight nanometers. Prior to the release of the EXE series, fab operators could only create 13-nanometer patterns.

Intel installed a system called the EXE:5000 in its Hillsboro, Oregon factory two years ago. It later set up a second, more capable machine known as the EXE:5200B. The chipmaker completed the latter system’s acceptance testing in December.

The EXE:5000 and EXE:5200B both produce laser light by vaporizing tiny drops of lead. However, the latter system performs the task more efficiently thanks to a set of upgraded optical components. As a result, the EXE:5200B can process more wafers per hour and offers higher etching accuracy.

Modern processors comprise dozens of layers that are made with different lithography machines. According to ASML, Intel is using the EXE series to produce some of the layers in its newest Intel 18A process. The companies didn’t go into detail. Typically, fab operators use their high-end lithography machines to make the most complicated layers and produce the rest with less advanced equipment.

Intel is using its EXE-powered production line to mass produce a subset of its Intel Core Ultra Series 3 laptop processors. The most advanced chips in the chip series ship with a 12-core central processing unit. Additionally, they include a 12-core graphics processing unit and an artificial intelligence accelerator.

“By qualifying the High NA EUV process option on select Intel 18A product layers, our existing fleet of tools are providing customers with increased output, while we develop future options to achieve leading-edge performance, density and manufacturing flexibility on upcoming nodes,” said Naga Chandrasekaran, executive vice president and general manager of Intel Foundry.

ASML announced the milestone in conjunction with the release of its second quarter results. The company generated sales of 9.3 billion euros in the three months ended June 28, well above the 8.8 billion euros that analysts expected. ASML’s 2.9 billion euro net profit also topped the consensus estimate.

The company expects the strong demand for its machines to continue in the second half of the year. ASML raised its full-year revenue guidance to between 43 billion and 45 billion euros, which represents a 5 billion euro increase at the top of the range. Additionally, it announced plans to boost manufacturing capacity by 30% in each of the next two years across some of its production lines.

Photo: ASML