Overview
- ASML said Wednesday that Intel Foundry is running select layers of its 18A Panther Lake process on ASML’s EXE:5200B High NA (0.55 NA) scanners and that wafers from those layers have entered the supply chain.
- The patterned layers are dual-qualified so they can be exposed interchangeably on existing 0.33 NA NXE scanners or on the 0.55 NA EXE tools, and ASML reports EXE yields comparable to NXE yields.
- Intel is applying High NA EUV only to a subset of tight-pitch, critical layers rather than replacing the full lithography flow, using a layer-by-layer approach to gather production data and preserve overall output.
- Higher numerical aperture increases resolution in a single exposure, which reduces the need for complex multi-patterning and helps makers produce denser, higher-performance chip blocks used in AI and other workloads.
- This deployment builds on ASML and Intel work that began with an EXE system install and acceptance testing at Intel’s Hillsboro, Oregon site in 2024 and positions High NA as a staged option for broader future adoption while other foundries plan later rollouts.