Intel Foundry and ASML have processed more than one million 300mm wafers using High Numerical Aperture EUV lithography, marking a major step toward broader use of the technology in advanced chip manufacturing.
The milestone covers work across equipment installation, research, calibration, process development kits, and early high volume manufacturing.
Intel also confirmed that High NA EUV is already being used on selected critical layers of its Core Ultra Series 3 processors, better known as Panther Lake, which are produced on the Intel 18A process.
High NA EUV is already part of Intel 18A production
High NA EUV increases the numerical aperture of the lithography system from 0.33 to 0.55.
That improvement allows the equipment to print smaller features in a single exposure, reducing the need for complex multi patterning on some of the most demanding chip layers.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Companies | Intel Foundry and ASML |
| Milestone | More than 1 million wafers processed |
| Wafer size | 300mm |
| Lithography platform | ASML TWINSCAN EXE |
| Numerical aperture | 0.55 |
| Current production use | Selected Panther Lake layers |
| Process node | Intel 18A |
| High NA installation began | First commercial EXE:5000 installed in 2024 |
| Main benefit | Finer single exposure patterning |
Conventional EUV systems use a numerical aperture of 0.33 and can reach a practical single exposure resolution of around 26nm pitch, or 13nm half pitch.
High NA EUV improves that figure to roughly 16nm pitch.
That extra resolution becomes increasingly important as chipmakers move toward process technologies below the 2nm class.
Intel is using High NA only where it makes sense
Intel is not replacing its entire lithography process with High NA systems.
Instead, it is using the more advanced scanners on layers with extremely tight pitches where the higher resolution can reduce or remove the need for multiple conventional EUV exposures.
This selective approach matters because ASML's EXE series machines are extremely expensive to buy and operate.
Using High NA only on the most demanding layers can reduce complexity without forcing Intel to redesign its entire production flow around the new technology.
Yield and scanner performance are meeting expectations
Intel says High NA production performance is currently meeting expectations across several important manufacturing measures.
These include yield, overlay accuracy, defect rates, and scanner availability.
The company also says some High NA layers are matching or exceeding the results of comparable layers produced with multiple exposures on conventional 0.33 NA EUV systems.
Processing more than one million wafers is significant because production lithography requires extremely consistent mechanical and optical behavior.
The equipment must repeatedly position wafers and masks with very high accuracy while maintaining stable light sources, fast reticle handling, and reliable uptime.
The milestone therefore reflects experience accumulated across both development and early manufacturing rather than a single production run.
Panther Lake gives Intel an early production test
Intel was one of the earliest adopters of commercial High NA EUV equipment, installing the first ASML EXE:5000 system in 2024.
That early investment gave the company more time to work through issues involving masks, stage control, scanner stability, and process integration.
Panther Lake is now one of the first major production products to use the technology on selected layers.
Intel has indicated that yields for Panther Lake are progressing well, although the supplied information does not provide detailed production yield figures.
Intel may hold an early High NA manufacturing advantage
TSMC and Samsung have so far taken a more conservative approach, continuing to rely more heavily on conventional 0.33 NA EUV and multi patterning for their initial 2nm class processes.
Intel's earlier move into High NA could therefore give it more operational experience with the newer lithography systems.
That does not automatically mean Intel has a broader process technology lead, since overall manufacturing competitiveness also depends on transistor design, yield, cost, packaging, and production scale.
The one million wafer milestone does show that High NA EUV has moved beyond early laboratory testing and is now being used in real production environments.
Intel's current strategy is to apply the technology selectively where its higher resolution can offset the added equipment and operating costs.
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