BlockBeats news, on September 9, according to the Seoul Economic Daily, Samsung Electronics will collaborate with ASML, the world’s largest lithography equipment manufacturer, to develop high-numerical-aperture (High-NA) extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology. Samsung is participating in an initiative aimed at shifting industry standards from the 6-inch photomasks used since the 1980s to 12-inch versions, and aims to be the first to establish a mass production system for DRAM based on High-NA EUV equipment.
Samsung plans to apply high-NA EUV equipment to DRAM production starting in 2028, followed by extending this technology to 1.4-nanometer advanced logic processes to drive its foundry business. Expanding the mask size aims to offset the limitations of EUV technology. High-NA EUV has a numerical aperture 66% higher than conventional EUV, enabling the formation of more precise circuit patterns. Replacing the current 6-inch masks with 12-inch masks will improve fab productivity and reduce chip manufacturing costs.