ASML's most advanced EUV machine is now central to Intel's comeback strategy

Etching CPUs and other advanced chips with sub-1nm accuracy

by · TechSpot

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The big picture: Dutch company ASML Holding sits at the center of the global semiconductor supply chain, producing nearly all of the machines required to manufacture the most advanced integrated circuits. Intel and other chipmakers rely on the firm's technology to push process nodes forward, making ASML's roadmap inseparable from the future of leading-edge chips.

Intel recently confirmed the latest results in its partnership with ASML. The US chipmaker worked with engineers from the European corporation to install, test, and validate its first TWINSCAN EXE:5200B scanner. Intel says the tool will play a central role in its effort to reclaim process leadership in both chip manufacturing and the foundry business.

The massive, costly machine has now reached an "acceptance testing" milestone. The new scanner delivers the same high resolution as the first-generation EXE:5000, while increasing wafer output to 175 per hour. It also improves multi-layer alignment accuracy to 0.7 nanometers. This milestone means the EXE:5200B is ready to transition from R&D to high-volume production, etching new CPUs and other advanced chips.

Overlay accuracy is a crucial parameter in photolithography-based chip manufacturing and should enable Intel to produce chips with even smaller transistors in the coming years. High Numerical Aperture (High NA) Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is poised to revolutionize chip production, and Intel has been working with High NA EUV machines at its Oregon R&D fab since 2023.

The EXE:5200B also introduces several advancements aimed at improving wafer throughput and manufacturing efficiency. Its higher-power EUV source enables faster wafer exposure at practical doses, while a redesigned wafer stocker architecture improves logistics and thermal stability, enhancing performance in multi-pass manufacturing flows.

Beyond efficiency, the scanner's precision positions Intel to push the limits of transistor density in future chips. With 0.7nm overlay accuracy, the EXE:5200B should help the company produce next-generation x86 CPUs and other advanced chips with smaller, more densely packed transistors.

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The scanner isn't exclusive to Intel. SK Hynix, a chipmaker with foundry capabilities, installed the device in its South Korean plant a few weeks ago. The company specializes in DRAM and other memory products, which analysts expect to be the next industry victim of the financially unsustainable AI bubble.

While acquiring and validating new manufacturing capabilities, Intel is also working to advance its silicon designs. The company aims to move beyond the RibbonFET gate-all-around architecture with a new 2DFET model, which should enable a damascene-style etching process in future manufacturing technologies.