Overview
- Intel disclosed Monday that it has processed more than 1,000,000 300mm wafers with High‑NA EUV in under two and a half years, a total the company says exceeds all other users combined.
- The company is running multiple ASML High‑NA systems, including EXE:5000 prototypes and at least one EXE:5200B production tool, and is using High‑NA in Panther Lake Core Ultra CPU production.
- ASML reported in Q1 2026 that global High‑NA systems had processed over 500,000 wafers with tool availability above 80 percent, and the vendor has said Intel is the first to ship logic at scale with High‑NA and achieve yields comparable to existing NXE EUV platforms.
- Samsung and TSMC have confirmed multi‑year rollouts that pair with ASML and other partners on a move to 12‑inch mask pilot lines by 2031, with Samsung targeting large‑scale DRAM use in 2028 and TSMC planning High‑NA adoption for advanced logic around 2031.
- A full transition to larger 12‑inch masks would remove current High‑NA stitching limits but requires major changes across the mask ecosystem and possible tool redesigns, a constraint that will shape supply chains, factory layouts, and chip cost and design choices over the next several years.