Countdown to the High-NA Lithography Era! ASML Holding NV ADR (ASML.US) announced that the first batch of chips will be available in a few months. HBM/DRAM collaborates with AI chips to welcome the process node transition.

Dutch lithography machine giant ASML Holding NV ADR CEO Christophe Fouquet stated on Tuesday that he expects the first batch of high-performance chips manufactured using its next-generation lithography machine, the High-NA EUV lithography machine, to be officially delivered in the coming months. According to the official description by ASML Holding NV ADR, the High-NA EUV will target key graphical platforms for 2nm advanced chip processes, particularly for the 1.8nm/1.4nm levels and subsequent process nodes, covering crucial manufacturing layers for storage chips such as DRAM. At the same time, the Dutch company is responding to concerns about the cost of this new technology. One of the largest customers of this computer chip equipment manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR, stated last month that the cost of High-NA equipment is currently too high, with a maximum cost per unit of up to $400 million. However, Christophe Fouquet expressed firm confidence in the outlook for the widespread adoption of this cutting-edge lithography technology. "In the coming months, we will see the first batch of products, including some HBM/DRAM storage chips and logic chips, exposed to the High-NA lithography machine system," he said at a conference organized by the research institution imec in Antwerp, Belgium. "These technologies are very expensive. They require validation. But their original design intent has always been to reduce actual graphical costs over time," Fouquet said. The strong demand for ASML Holding NV ADR's EUV equipment from advanced process chip manufacturers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR, Intel Corporation, and others in the AI GPU/ASIC and HBM/DRAM storage chip market is helping this Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer become the most valuable company in Europe. EUV lithography equipment is used to print extremely small chip circuits. Chip manufacturers are currently testing the High NA version of this semiconductor manufacturing equipment, which will be able to produce features that are up to 66% smaller similar to how a camera achieves better focus and focal length capability. American chip manufacturing giant Intel Corporation has been one of the most aggressive chip manufacturers preparing for the use of ASML Holding NV ADR's High-NA lithography machine equipment, attempting to surpass its long-time competitors Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR and Samsung. In addition, storage chip manufacturers including SK Hynix have recently indicated their intention to use this new technology to create HBM/DRAM storage chips. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR has not ruled out the possibility of using High-NA, but Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR executive Kevin Zhang stated that the company will continue to use ASML Holding NV ADR's current EUV lithography machine series in future chip generations, as the company is making positive progress through innovative advanced process chip designs that do not require narrower line widths. ASML Holding NV ADR CEO Fouquet stated that the unprecedented AI super boom is expected to drive chip sales to increase by at least 20% annually in the coming years. He acknowledged that there are concerns within the industry that ASML Holding NV ADR's production capacity may become a key bottleneck in expanding chip production pace, just like during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in a lighthearted manner when addressing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR and Samsung executives at the conference earlier, he joked that they are the real supply bottleneck for human society entering the AI era, as their companies need to expand chip production pace and purchase more ASML Holding NV ADR lithography machine products. The EUV lithography machines introduced by ASML Holding NV ADR can be said to be essential semiconductor equipment for building AI chip power clusters for cutting-edge AI applications such as ChatGPT and Claude, provided by major chip manufacturers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR and Samsung Electronics since 2023. This equipment is also essential for storage giants like SK Hynix and Micron Technology, Inc. to build HBM storage systems and data center enterprise-grade DRAM storage components under the macro background of the possible "storage chip super cycle" continuing until 2028. What is High-NA EUV lithography? Under the increasingly strong expectations for semiconductor equipment spending in the background of the AI computing infrastructure construction frenzy and the "storage chip super cycle" (especially since Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR significantly raised its annual capital expenditure and the performance outlook far exceeded market expectations, leading to even hotter expectations for semiconductor equipment spending), the trading price of ASML Holding NV ADR American Depositary Receipt (ASML.US) has risen by 25% so far this year and repeatedly set historical highs. Large investment institutions such as UBS Group AG, Citigroup, and KeyBanc believe that a new round of "main uptrend" for ASML Holding NV ADR's stock price has already begun. All recent news dynamics about catalyzing advanced process AI chip and storage chip demand and capacity expansion can be considered positive and favorable for semiconductor equipment. As global AI data center construction led by technology giants such as Microsoft Corporation, Alphabet Inc. Class C, and Meta becomes increasingly active, driving chip manufacturing giants to accelerate the production of 3nm and below advanced process AI chips, CoWoS/3D advanced packaging capacity, and DRAM/NAND storage chip production expansion, the long-term bull logic of the semiconductor equipment sector is becoming increasingly robust. ASML Holding NV ADR's EUV lithography machines and it is still the only semiconductor equipment company that can manufacture them have helped customers push processes from 7nm to 3nm advanced processes adopted by NVIDIA Corporation and Apple Inc. The High NA EUV machine is designed to advance geometric sizes to 2nm and below. Smaller circuit sizes on chips mean stronger performance. For Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR, as well as Intel Corporation and Samsung, which are developing 2nm and below node manufacturing technologies, ASML Holding NV ADR's newly launched High-NA EUV lithography machine is essential. With High-NA's 0.55 NA coupled with non-unity optics, it brings new boundaries in resolution, mask, and process integration, making High-NA a "powerful tool" to accelerate advanced nodes, reduce multi-patterning, and improve line widths/overlay. The performance leap of AI GPU/AI ASIC accelerators highly depends on advanced logic nodes (from 3nm to 2nm, or even more advanced 1.8nm, 1.6nm), where key layers must use EUV or even High-NA EUV to achieve smaller line widths and higher yields. ASML Holding NV ADR's EUV/High-NA EUV equipment is clearly aimed at the production demands for logic and globally leading DRAM nodes at 3nm and below, being the "scarce bottleneck capital goods" for accelerating production of advanced process chips. Meanwhile, AI training/inference is also igniting the "storage side": HBM storage systems paired with AI GPU/AI ASICs and enterprise-level data center SSDs require DRAM and SSD controller chip manufacturing nodes to continue relying on EUV lithography machines (HBM/DRAM manufacturers are even starting to choose High-NA) for microchip manufacturing processes. This also requires etching, thin-film deposition, CMP processes, and, most importantly, stacking packaging and interconnection steps (TSV/hybrid bonding advanced packaging, and more), significantly increasing manufacturing steps and equipment density. From 2nm advanced processes to the 1.4nm battlefield and then to advanced DRAM storage, the next generation of lithography turning points is coming ASML Holding NV ADR's official statement mentions that the TWINSCAN EXE:5000, as a 0.55 NA High-NA EUV system, can achieve a resolution of 8nm, print features that are 1.7 times smaller than the current NXE EUV system in a single exposure, and theoretically increase transistor density by 2.9 times. Some analysts have also mentioned that High-NA can manufacture features reduced by as much as 66%. Specifically for chip manufacturers, Intel Corporation is the most aggressive, with High-NA mainly seen as a service for its Intel 14A, around the 1.4nm level process; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR explicitly stated that they will continue using the current Low-NA EUV in future chip generations, and A16 may not necessarily require High-NA because of the high price of High-NA equipment and the optimal balance of cost efficiency has not yet been achieved. Regarding applications, Fouquet stated that in the coming months, we may see the first batch of storage and logic chips exposed to the High-NA system. This means that High-NA will not only serve a specific type of advanced process chip, but will also target advanced logic chips, AI accelerators/AI CPU/GPU/TPU-related logic chip processes, as well as advanced storage processes such as HBM/DRAM. Intel Corporation, Samsung, SK Hynix, and others are further advancing or evaluating High-NA, especially SK Hynix and Intel Corporation have already started using this technology; this is highly related to the two most scarce assets in today's AI data centers: high-performance logic chips and advanced storage layer manufacturing capabilities for HBM/DRAM/eSSD controller chips. From an industry perspective, the entry of High-NA into DRAM is a clear direction. ASML Holding NV ADR's EUV system supports the volume production paths for sub-2nm logic nodes and leading DRAM nodes, making High-NA more likely to be used for critical and finer graphical layers in advanced DRAM/HBM, to improve single-exposure resolution, reduce multi-patterning steps, and drive further miniaturization of higher-density DRAM units. In terms of industry progress, SK Hynix is one of the most clear-cut promoters of advancing DRAM/HBM. Some media reports suggest that SK Hynix plans to purchase approximately $7.97 billion worth of EUV equipment from ASML Holding NV ADR for new capacities such as Yongin and M15X, aiming to produce the HBM and advanced DRAM needed for AI; and SK Hynix and ASML Holding NV ADR have already assembled the first commercial High-NA EUV lithography system at the M16 factory in Icheon, South Korea, initially used for rapid development of advanced HBM/DRAM structural prototypes, and will transition to mass production in the future. The essence of HBM is multi-layer DRAM die stacking + TSV + advanced packaging, where each DRAM die layer still relies on the preceding DRAM process. As AI requires higher capacity, bandwidth, and lower power consumption, as well as the continuous miniaturization of DRAM units, peripheral circuits, bit lines/word lines, metal interconnects, and other key graphical layers, High-NA stands out as a unique value. Its significance lies not in "stacking HBM higher," but in making individual DRAM dies denser, with lower power consumption, fewer graphical steps, a more controllable yield/cost curve, to support future generations of HBM4E, HBM5, or other subsequent generations.