Samsung Delays High-NA EUV for 1nm

According to ChangMin Park, Vice President of Technology at Samsung Electronics, the company plans to introduce ASML’s High Numerical Aperture (High-NA) Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology for mass production starting with its 1nm-class A10 process node, which is expected to enter production around 2030.

Park made the remarks on August 12 at the 2026 Next-Generation Lithography + Patterning conference in South Korea. He said Samsung had previously considered applying High-NA EUV to mass production at its 2nm (SF2) and 1.4nm (SF1.4) nodes. However, after evaluation, the company concluded that the technology was not yet mature enough for widespread production at these nodes and decided to postpone its adoption.

Samsung believes High-NA EUV will become an essential lithography technology for the A10 node and more advanced process technologies.

ASML’s High-NA EUV systems feature a numerical aperture (NA) of 0.55, compared with 0.33 NA for conventional Low-NA EUV systems. The higher NA enables the lithography system to print smaller circuit features, potentially allowing more advanced patterns to be produced with fewer patterning steps. This could reduce the need for the multiple patterning processes required by Low-NA EUV at smaller process nodes.

However, multiple patterning with Low-NA EUV can increase manufacturing costs, process complexity, and defect risks. At the same time, High-NA EUV systems come with a significantly higher capital cost, with each system reportedly priced at approximately $350 million to $410 million, nearly twice the cost of a conventional Low-NA EUV system.

Although ASML began shipping High-NA EUV systems about two years ago, their adoption in advanced semiconductor manufacturing has progressed more slowly than initially expected. TSMC executives said last year that the company did not plan to use High-NA EUV for mass production of its A14, or 1.4nm-class, process and earlier nodes.

Intel Foundry has become the first major foundry to use High-NA EUV for high-volume logic production. On July 15, ASML announced that Intel Foundry was using its High-NA EUV technology to manufacture certain Intel Core Ultra 3 processors on the Intel 18A process node.

For Samsung, the transition is expected to take place in stages. The company plans to continue using existing Low-NA EUV systems and multiple patterning techniques to mass-produce its 1.4nm SF1.4 process in 2029. High-NA EUV is then expected to play a larger role when Samsung moves to its 1nm-class A10 process, with mass production targeted for around 2030.

The planned adoption highlights the semiconductor industry's gradual transition toward High-NA EUV as chipmakers push toward smaller process nodes while balancing lithography performance, manufacturing complexity, yield, and equipment costs.