Intel is in the process of receiving the second of ASML’s new €350-million (R7.1-billion) “High NA” EUV tools, CEO Pat Gelsinger said, according to a transcript of the company’s 1 August earnings call.
Intel began receiving the first of the massive machines, which take months to install and are expected to enable new generations of more powerful computer chips, in December.
“The second High NA tool is coming into our Oregon facility,” Gelsinger said on the call, adding that the company’s technology investments are “showing good early indicators”.
The remark did not draw attention amid Intel’s dramatic slump on worries about its turnaround prospects.
ASML, the biggest supplier of equipment to computer chip makers, declined to comment on specific customer purchases.
Executives at ASML said on 17 July that the company had begun shipping a second High NA tool to an unnamed customer, and that it will only book revenues for the first, and possibly the second, this year.
A successful introduction of High NA is key to ASML’s future as Europe’s largest technology firm, but there is some doubt as to when exactly customers will adopt it.
The company has orders for more than a dozen High NA machines from leading chip makers TSMC, Samsung, Intel, and memory chip specialists SK Hynix and Micron.
Commercial production
Intel plans to use the technology in commercial production by 2027. TSMC, which makes chips for Nvidia and Apple, will receive a tool this year but has not said when it will use it in production.
ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet said on 17 July that DRAM memory chip makers — meaning Samsung, SK Hynix or Micron — may begin using High NA in 2025 or 2026. — (c) 2024 Reuters
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