Intel Foundry tops 1 million wafers with next-gen EUV tech

Intel ↗ 1.71% Foundry and ASML ↗ 2.14% announced on Tuesday an expanded collaboration to accelerate industry readiness for High Numerical Aperture Extreme Ultraviolet lithography, the next-generation chipmaking technology seen as essential for manufacturing increasingly complex AI processors. Intel shares rose more than 3% in premarket trading following the announcement.benzinga

The companies revealed at the SPIE Photomask Technology + Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography conference in Monterey, California, that Intel Foundry has now processed more than one million wafers using High NA EUV across tool certification, testing, research and development, and volume production. The technology is currently used on select layers of Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors, code-named Panther Lake, built on the Intel 18A process node. Intel said products manufactured with High NA on those layers meet or exceed the performance of comparable layers produced using ASML's existing NXE EUV platform.finance.yahoo

Pushing Toward Larger Masks

A central focus of the collaboration is the transition to larger 6×12-inch photomasks, which would allow High NA EUV to produce the large chips demanded by AI and data center workloads. Current EUV equipment can manufacture chips with an area of roughly 800 square millimeters, a limit that high-end processors from companies like Nvidia are already approaching. Intel Foundry has spent more than three years championing the large mask format initiative, working with ASML, mask makers, automation suppliers, EDA partners, and other semiconductor manufacturers to develop the necessary standards and infrastructure.tradingkey+1

ASML Chief Technology Officer Marco Pieters said the larger photomask technology could boost High NA EUV production efficiency by approximately 40%, with a pilot production line targeted for around 2031 and mass production readiness by 2033.tradingkey

"Intel Foundry has been one of the key leaders of the industry's adoption of High NA, from installing the first commercial EXE system in 2024, to qualifying the latest generation of tools, to shipping the first high-volume logic product manufactured with High NA," said ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet.finance.yahoo

Strategic Positioning

Intel Foundry Co-General Manager Naga Chandrasekaran framed the effort as essential for the company's foundry ambitions. "The companies building the increasingly complex AI products of the future need manufacturing innovations that are production-ready and easy to use," he said.finance.yahoo

The announcement comes as Intel works to attract external foundry customers. KKM Financial founder Jeff Kilburg recently called Intel's expanded $20 billion capital raise a strategic move, suggesting the company could be approaching major foundry customer wins that require additional manufacturing capacity.benzinga