Samsung and ASML Deepen Partnership to Advance Next-Generation Semiconductor Manufacturing
Samsung Electronics and ASML have announced an expansion of their long-standing strategic partnership, strengthening collaboration on High Numerical Aperture Extreme Ultraviolet (High NA EUV) lithography and advanced semiconductor manufacturing technologies.
The expanded collaboration comes as the semiconductor industry enters a new phase of growth driven by artificial intelligence. Increasing demand for high-performance computing, advanced memory and energy-efficient chips is pushing manufacturers to develop increasingly sophisticated processes while improving productivity and cost efficiency.
Against this backdrop, Samsung and ASML will work together to accelerate the development and adoption of technologies designed to meet the performance, efficiency and scaling requirements of future semiconductor manufacturing.
The partnership builds on years of cooperation between the two companies and highlights their shared focus on advancing the technologies required to manufacture next-generation chips.
Advancing 12-Inch Photomask Technology
A key element of the expanded collaboration is Samsung’s participation in an industry initiative focused on developing next-generation 12-inch photomask technology.
Photomasks are critical components in semiconductor manufacturing. They act as templates during lithography, allowing intricate circuit patterns to be transferred onto semiconductor wafers.
For decades, the semiconductor industry has primarily relied on the 6-inch photomask format. However, as chip manufacturing moves toward High NA EUV lithography, the industry is preparing for a transition to larger 12-inch masks.
The move to larger photomasks is expected to provide several potential advantages for advanced semiconductor manufacturing. These include improved fab productivity, reduced chipmaking costs and fewer limitations associated with stitching.
By supporting larger mask technology, manufacturers can potentially take greater advantage of the capabilities offered by High NA EUV lithography. This could become increasingly important as chipmakers pursue smaller features, more complex designs and higher transistor densities.
The transition will require more than simply increasing the physical size of existing masks. It will require advances across mask manufacturing technologies, materials, inspection, infrastructure and production processes.
Samsung plans to contribute its expertise to this effort, working with industry partners to help develop the technologies and supporting infrastructure required for the transition.
Samsung’s Role in the High NA EUV Ecosystem
Samsung’s position across both memory and foundry manufacturing gives the company a broad perspective on the challenges facing next-generation semiconductor production.
The company has extensive experience applying EUV lithography to advanced semiconductor processes and continues to invest in technologies designed to support future scaling.
Through its expanded collaboration with ASML, Samsung aims to help accelerate the development of High NA EUV-related technologies and prepare its manufacturing infrastructure for future generations of advanced chips.
High NA EUV represents an important evolution of EUV lithography. By increasing the numerical aperture of the lithography system, the technology is designed to provide higher resolution, enabling semiconductor manufacturers to print smaller and more intricate patterns.
Improved resolution can potentially allow manufacturers to simplify certain process steps, improve manufacturing efficiency and continue scaling semiconductor technologies.
These benefits are particularly relevant to the development of advanced memory and logic devices, where manufacturers are under constant pressure to deliver greater performance within increasingly constrained physical dimensions.
High NA EUV for Future DRAM Manufacturing
Another major milestone in the collaboration is Samsung’s plan to introduce ASML’s High NA EUV lithography technology into future DRAM high-volume manufacturing by 2028.
The move would represent the industry’s first application of High NA EUV in DRAM high-volume manufacturing, further demonstrating the potential of the technology beyond leading-edge logic applications.
DRAM scaling presents unique manufacturing challenges. As memory cells become smaller and chip densities increase, manufacturers must continue improving lithography resolution while maintaining production efficiency, reliability and yield.
High NA EUV could help address these challenges by providing the resolution required for increasingly advanced DRAM processes.
The technology is expected to support Samsung’s long-term DRAM scaling roadmap by enabling more advanced patterning capabilities while potentially simplifying certain manufacturing processes.
For Samsung, the adoption of High NA EUV in high-volume DRAM manufacturing represents another step toward integrating next-generation lithography into large-scale semiconductor production.
It also highlights the importance of close collaboration between chipmakers and equipment suppliers as the industry moves toward increasingly advanced manufacturing technologies.
Preparing Semiconductor Manufacturing for the AI Era
Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the semiconductor industry.
AI workloads require enormous amounts of computing power and memory bandwidth, increasing demand for advanced processors, high-performance memory and sophisticated semiconductor packaging.
As a result, chip manufacturers are being challenged to deliver higher performance and efficiency while managing manufacturing costs and increasingly complex process technologies.
Lithography is at the heart of this evolution.
The ability to create smaller, more precise patterns on semiconductor wafers directly influences transistor density, performance, power consumption and overall chip capabilities.
High NA EUV is therefore expected to play an increasingly important role in future semiconductor manufacturing.
By strengthening its collaboration with ASML, Samsung is working to ensure that its manufacturing technologies and infrastructure remain aligned with the requirements of the AI era.
The partnership also demonstrates how advances in semiconductor manufacturing increasingly depend on cooperation across the industry.
No single company develops every technology required to produce a leading-edge chip. Semiconductor manufacturers, equipment suppliers, materials companies and research organizations must work together to solve increasingly complex engineering challenges.
A Long-Term Partnership Built on Innovation
Samsung and ASML have worked together for many years to advance semiconductor manufacturing technologies. The expanded partnership builds on that foundation while establishing new areas of collaboration focused on future manufacturing requirements.
Young Hyun Jun, Vice Chairman & CEO of Samsung Electronics, emphasized the importance of collaboration as AI continues to reshape the semiconductor industry.
“The AI era is transforming the semiconductor industry and increasing the importance of technological innovation across the entire value chain. Samsung is committed to maintaining leadership in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, including memory and foundry, through breakthrough technologies and strong partnerships. By further strengthening our collaboration with ASML, we are helping lay the foundation for the next generation of AI and semiconductor innovation.”
Christophe Fouquet, President and Chief Executive Officer of ASML, also highlighted the companies’ long-standing relationship and the importance of continued cooperation.
“Samsung has been one of ASML’s most important innovation partners for many years. Together, we have helped advance the technologies that underpin modern semiconductor manufacturing. As the industry enters a new era driven by artificial intelligence, close collaboration with our customers becomes even more important. We look forward to working with Samsung to enable the next wave of semiconductor innovation.”
Building the Next Generation of Chip Manufacturing
The expanded Samsung-ASML partnership represents more than an equipment collaboration. It reflects a shared effort to prepare semiconductor manufacturing for the next generation of technology.
The development of 12-inch photomask technology could help manufacturers unlock more of the potential of High NA EUV while improving productivity and cost efficiency. At the same time, Samsung’s planned introduction of High NA EUV into DRAM high-volume manufacturing by 2028 could establish a new milestone for advanced memory production.
Together, these initiatives demonstrate how semiconductor innovation is increasingly focused on both technological capability and manufacturing efficiency.
As AI continues to drive demand for more powerful and energy-efficient computing, the ability to manufacture advanced chips at scale will become increasingly important.
Samsung’s expertise in memory and foundry manufacturing, combined with ASML’s leadership in lithography systems, creates a strong foundation for continued innovation.
By deepening their strategic partnership, the companies aim to accelerate the technologies that will enable future generations of semiconductors — helping advance the infrastructure that supports AI, high-performance computing and the broader digital economy.
Source Link: https://news.samsung.com/