ASML and TSMC said Tuesday they are teaming up to move the chip industry’s most advanced lithography process onto larger photomasks, a shift the two companies say will cut manufacturing costs and boost output for next-generation semiconductors. The initiative targets a pilot production line for 12-inch EUV photomasks by 2031, with volume manufacturing readiness targeted for 2033.
Why does photomask size matter for chipmaking?
Photomasks are the stencils that pattern circuits onto silicon wafers during lithography, the step that etches the tiny structures making up a modern chip. The industry has used 6-inch photomasks for decades, but ASML’s newest High NA EUV machines need two of them stitched together to expose a single chip layer, adding complexity and cost. Moving to a single 12-inch mask would eliminate that stitching step entirely and let manufacturers use bigger, more efficient exposure fields.
TSMC chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei said the Taiwanese chipmaker plans to bring ASML’s High NA EUV technology into mass production for its most advanced process nodes starting in 2030, ahead of the broader industry’s move to 12-inch masks. ASML has also lined up Intel and Samsung as early backers of the format change, according to industry trade reports, though TSMC is the only one of the three to set a public production timeline so far.
What comes next?
The companies plan to detail the initiative further at the SPIE Photomask Technology and Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography conference this week, where mask suppliers, equipment makers and chipmakers typically coordinate on manufacturing standards. Because photomask infrastructure spans dozens of suppliers, from glass substrate makers to pellicle manufacturers, industry-wide adoption of a new mask size typically takes years of coordinated investment before it reaches factory floors.
Sources: GlobeNewswire · Focus Taiwan
