During Vice Chairman Lee's Recent Visit to Europe
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong returned from a business trip to Europe in the middle of June after wrapping up talks with ASML about the introduction of next-generation extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment from the Dutch semiconductor equipment maker.
Lee met with ASML CEO Peter Wennink and CTO Martin van den Brink at ASML headquarters in the Netherlands on June 14 (local time) and sealed a deal to introduce EUV lithography equipment to be produced this year and high-numerical aperture (NA) EUV lithography equipment scheduled to come out next year.
High-NA EUV lithography equipment is next-generation equipment that can engrave finer circuits compared with existing EUV lithography equipment. It is considered a game changer that will determine the winner of a technological race in the sub-3-nm foundry market.
The unit price of high-NA EUV lithography equipment is estimated at 500 billion won, twice as high as existing EUV lithography equipment.
Earlier this year, Intel announced that it has signed a contract to purchase five units of this equipment to use them for production of 1.8-nm chips in 2025. TSMC also said at the Silicon Valley Technology Symposium in the United States on June 16 that it would introduce high-NA EUV lithography equipment to its process for the first time in the world in 2024.
Amid this scramble for next-generation EUV lithography equipment, Samsung Electronics also sought to secure the latest EUV equipment. Lee’s business trip to Europe was primarily focused on securing next-generation high-NA EUV lithography equipment, as well as latest-generation equipment currently being produced. ASML can produce only 50 units of EUV equipment this year, and delivery lead time is one to one year and six months. The company's limited production capacity and long lead time is fueling competition to place preorders for high-NA EUV lithography equipment.
The specific time of Samsung Electronics’ actual application of high-NA EUV lithography equipment to its semiconductor process has not been set. But considering the delivery lead time, Samsung Electronics is expected to actually use high-NA EUV lithography equipment beginning in 2024.
Some industry watchers are calling for more support from the government for investment in semiconductor facilities. Samsung Electronics has reportedly secured 18 of the 55 EUV lithography equipment units scheduled to be produced this year. This means that the company will invest more than four trillion won in EUV lithography equipment alone.
“If Samsung procures 10 units of high-NA EUV lithography equipment, it will cost the company over five trillion won,” said an industry insider. “It is necessary to expand government support to enhance Korea’s national industrial competitiveness.”