Intel has already begun adopting high-NA EUV machines in chip manufacturing. The US company has used the technology in high-volume manufacturing of Panther Lake processors for mobile computing devices starting in July 2026.
Industry moves on as China races to catch up
Samsung and TSMC are also now working with Intel and ASML to change the chipmaking standard for photomasks—the stencils that provide the intricate circuitry patterns imprinted onto silicon—from 6-inch photomasks to 12-inch photomasks. That shift could eventually improve the chipmaking productivity of high NA EUV machines by 40 percent, ASML chief technology officer Marco Pieters told Bloomberg.
The South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix is also considering joining the industry consortium overseeing the switch to the larger 12-inch photomasks, a spokesperson told Bloomberg. Like Samsung, SK Hynix is also aiming to start making memory chips using the high NA EUV technology starting in 2028.
Improved production of chips has become a business imperative for as long as the AI bubble continues to inflate. Tech companies’ rush to construct new AI data centers has also contributed to a global shortage of memory chips that has increased the prices of smartphones, laptops, and gaming machines.
