Fire at ASML Berlin gives chipmakers a big scare

Many types of chips have been in short supply for over a year now, but with few exceptions, these are ICs made in trailing-edge or mature manufacturing nodes. Leading-edge chipmakers, by contrast, have more or less been able to meet demand. Judging by market projections, however, it will be challenging to keep churning out enough chips. Intel, Samsung and TSMC have all laid out huge investment plans to expand capacity in a market that could grow to as much as twice its current size by the end of the decade.

Leading-edge chips require EUV scanners to be manufactured, increasingly so as the number of EUV layers per chip grows. It’s no secret, however, that ASML hasn’t been able to provide its customers with the amount of EUV wafer capacity they would like. “Customers are pushing us extremely hard to get more wafers out,” CEO Peter Wennink told investors last year.