Intel has processed 30,000 wafers with High-NA EUV chipmaking tool

Intel has started using two leading-edge ASML High-NA Twinscan EXE:5000 EUV lithography tools, the company revealed on Monday at an industry conference, Reuters reports. The company uses these systems for research and development purposes, and so far, Intel has processed tens of thousands of wafers using them. 

Intel installed and started using two High-NA EUV lithography tools from ASML at its D1 development fab near Hillsboro, Oregon, last year and has now processed as many as 30,000 wafers using these systems, Intel engineer Steve Carson revealed at the SPIE Advanced Lithography + Patterning conference. Intel was the first leading chipmaker to get High-NA EUV machines (which are believed to cost €350 million each) last year and plans to use them to produce its 14A (1.4nm-class) chips several years down the road. 

Adopting an all-new manufacturing tool ahead of competitors is important, as it enables Intel to develop various High-NA EUV manufacturing aspects (such as glass for photomasks, pellicles for photomasks, chemicals, etc.) that could eventually become industry standards. Also, ASML is poised to develop its Twinscan EXE:5000 High-NA EUV tools with feedback provided by engineers from Intel, which could give the American giant an edge over competitors over time. 

Processing 30,000 wafers in a quarter is far below what commercial-grade systems can do. However, the number is massive for R&D usage, demonstrating how serious Intel is about becoming the leading chip maker in the High-NA EUV era.

Although ASML considers its Twinscan EXE:5000 High-NA EUV lithography tools to be pre-production tools not designed for high-volume manufacturing, Intel has reportedly said these systems are “more reliable than earlier models.” Still, the report does not elaborate on whether ASML’s Twinscan EXE:5000 is more reliable than the company’s pre-production Twinscan NXE:3300 tool from 2013, which was used to develop the existing EUV ecosystem, or the production-grade Twinscan NXE:3600D or NXE:3800E that are used for high-volume manufacturing (HVM) today. Considering that ASML uses similar light sources for NXE and EXE machines, they may indeed be very reliable. 

ASML’s Twinscan EXE High-NA EUV lithography tools can achieve a resolution of down to 8nm with a single exposure, a substantial improvement compared to Low-NA EUV systems that offer 13.5nm resolution with a single exposure. While current-generation Low-NA EUV tools can still achieve an 8nm resolution with double patterning, this lengthens the product cycle and can affect yields. High-NA EUV tools reduce the exposure field by half compared to Low-NA EUV systems, which require chip developers to alter their designs. Given the costs and peculiarities of High-NA EUV litho systems, all chipmakers have different strategies for their adoption. Intel clearly wants to be the first adopter, whereas TSMC is a little more cautious.