SK Hynix installs high-NA EUV production tool

DRAM manufacturer SK Hynix has announced that it has completed assembly of ASML’s Twinscan EXE:5200B at its M16 fab in Icheon, South Korea. Following the installation of five development systems across the globe, the EXE:5200B is the first high-NA EUV production tool to be put together outside ASML’s premises. This suggests that deployment in high-volume manufacturing is on the horizon.

That prospect marks a major win for ASML, which has been battling a negative ‘public opinion’ for its flagship system. Sentiments surrounding the introduction of high-NA EUV lithography appear to be opposite to those surrounding its predecessor. Whereas low-NA EUV couldn’t be ready for mass production soon enough, high-NA is often labeled as having arrived too early.