Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Thanks to CTOnews.com netizens, soft media Xinyou 1933769, Mr. Aviation, OC_Formula for the delivery of clues! CTOnews.com November 15 news, South Korea Today Electronic News reported that Samsung plans to import more ASML extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment.

Although details could not be disclosed due to the confidentiality clause in the contract, securities market sources said the agreement would allow ASML to provide a total of 50 sets of equipment within five years, each priced at about 200 billion won (CTOnews.com Note: currently about 1.102 billion yuan), with a total value of 10 trillion won (currently about 55.1 billion yuan).

It is not clear whether the products in the contract are existing EUV lithography equipment or the next generation of "High NA EUV" lithography equipment. However, at present, the biggest problem with EUV lithography equipment is the limited production. According to officials, it is "more complex than satellite components" and can only produce a limited quantity each year. It is said that last year it was 40, and this year ASML is estimated to be 60. At present, there are five manufacturers that need and can buy EUV lithography equipment: Samsung Electronics, TSMC, Intel, SK Hynix and Meguiar. Of these, TSMC accounts for about 70 per cent of the supply, with four remaining companies vying for the remaining 30 per cent.

Samsung Electronics launched the world's first full-gate (GAA) 3nm foundry technology in June last year, so the company has been working to ensure the procurement of more EUV lithography equipment, with the goal of entering the second generation process of the 3nm generation in the first half of next year, 2nm process in 2025 and 1.4nm process in 2027.

That is why Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited ASML headquarters in June last year to discuss EUV procurement with Peter Bennink, chief executive, and held further talks with Bennink during a visit to South Korea in November. Given that EUV's delivery cycle (from order to receipt) takes at least a year, these meetings do seem to have yielded tangible results.

In fact, semiconductor analysts also take a positive attitude towards Samsung Electronics' plan to buy more EUV lithography equipment.

Lee Jong-hwan, a professor of systems semiconductor engineering at Xiangming University, said: "Samsung has introduced dozens of EUV lithography devices, each of which is said to cost about 200 billion won, indicating that the company intends to expand 3nm mass production opportunities and realize 2nm plans in the future."

Earlier, Samsung Electronics announced plans to have 100 EUV lithography machines by 2025. The market estimates that Samsung's current EUV fleet is about 40. If these 50 devices can be delivered smoothly, Sanxing will be able to have about 100 devices by 2028.

Byung-hoon Park, South Korean representative of the Dutch Institute of Applied Science (TNO), explained: "normally, semiconductor processes can spend 10 per cent of each machine on process development and testing, and having 100 machines means they can be used for research and development around the clock."

He also noted that, "by doing so, we will be able to ensure that we have sufficient process capacity to use the equipment correctly," he added. "it is expected that this will reduce the time and cost of the process and increase production."

"once we have a lot of (EUV) equipment and the technology stabilizes, we will be able to increase production and make progress in contract manufacturing," said Kim Yang-pang, an expert researcher at the Industrial Research Institute.

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