Samsung agreed with Dutch-based ASML to deploy extreme ultraviolet (EUV) equipment for mass production in their 7 nanometer processes.

Chief Executive Officer Peter Wennink says most of his customers expect to incorporate EUV by 2019, and he's prepping for orders within the next year. "The industry needs EUV," he says.

ASML forecast rising sales for this quarter, while predicting pressure on earnings as the introduction of new technology boosts costs.

TSMC said it has started work on a 5nm process to push ahead its most advanced technology, yet the company remains undecided on the adoption of extreme ultraviolet lithography at that node.

"We expect to see continued overall business strength in the second half of 2015 due to increased demand from memory and foundry customers compared with our previous expectations," ASML president and CEO Peter Wennink said.

ASML has signed an agreement with one of its major US customers to deliver a minimum of 15 ASML EUV lithography systems to support increased development activity and pilot production of future-generation manufacturing processes.

ASML expects new extreme ultraviolet lithography machines to reach a production standard that satisfies all of its semiconductor-equipment customers by 2017, CEO Peter Wennink said.

ASML said it sees first-half sales in 2014 at similar levels to the second half of this year - which would translate into sales of about EUR3.12 billion if the company meets its full-year sales forecast of EUR5.2 billion in 2013.

The Advanced Patterning Center will offer the global semiconductor ecosystem crucial patterning knowledge for sub-10nm technologies.

Cymer and ASML continue to expect the transaction to close in the first half of 2013.

ASML has warned of a weak first quarter but said it sees a recovery in the following months as smartphone and tablet makers shift to the next generation of chips.

Dutch semiconductor-manufacturing equipment maker ASML said Wednesday it sees weak demand in memory chips, and adjusted its second half net sales guidance to the lower end of its earlier EUR2.2 billion-EUR2.4 billion range.

ASML is negotiating with Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) over taking up to a 10% stake in the company under its equity-plus-research program.

Intel is the first participant in the customer co-investment program, and has committed to acquire up to a 15% equity ownership interest at a subscription price of EUR39.91 per share, and to also provide EUR829 million to ASML in R&D funding, which will be dedicated to the development of 450mm and EUV technology.

ASML dropped the most in six months after Europe's biggest semiconductor equipment maker didn't provide guidance for future orders in its first-quarter results.

Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML said Wednesday it expects a healthy start to 2012, as its customers invest in chip production to drive faster and more powerful smartphones and tablets.

ASML has said orders in the fourth quarter will increase from the third-quarter level as customers add capacity and shift to more advanced-technology machines.

Dutch chip lithography manufacturer ASML reported strong sales in the second quarter, but said new orders in the third quarter would be significantly lower, lending weight to reports of slowdowns in the semiconductor industry.

ASML has said first-quarter orders fell 27% as clients took more time to place orders because of disruptions by the Japanese earthquake. The quake is hurting the business of some ASML clients.

ASML said it expects first-quarter net sales this year of about 1.4 billion euros (US$1.88 billion), and said the company has the potential for 2011 sales of more than five billion euros. Sales in 2010 rose to 4.51 billion euros.

ASML now expects fourth-quarter bookings to be above two billion euro. "NAND flash memory investments for the high volume ramp of new technologies and foundry/logic commitments for new strategic fab projects are driving brisk lithography demand for 2011..."

The milestone has been reached by an XT:870 and an XT:400 , which are in operation at two different customer sites in Asia and which have raised the bar for 300mm lithography productivity.

"Capex will go up when our customers see the potential of the market. It will go down when it's not there. Every discussion we've had with customers indicates capex will not go down (next year)," ASML CFO Wennink said.

European chipmaker STMicroelectronics has reported higher-than-expected net profits for the third quarter, and said sales would expand in the final three months of the year. STM's results follow recent upbeat earnings reports from Intel and ASML.

"We booked EUR 1,297 million worth of systems in the third quarter of 2010 and expect bookings in the fourth quarter to exceed the Q3 level, confirming our potential for 2011 sales growth," said Eric Meurice, president and CEO of ASML.

The most important announcement from SEMICON West was a subtle statement from Globalfoundries about tools. Putting some bits together, it is pretty clear that the company is going to use EUV lithography at the 15nm node.

ASML has announced that four TWINSCAN XT:1900Gi lithography systems have joined its "One Million Wafer Club" of scanners that have processed more than one million silicon wafers within 12 months, underlining the importance and acceptance of this advanced technology in mainstream chip manufacturing.

TSMC, working with ASML and Mapper, have developed a prototype multi-e-beam tool for semiconductor lithography, according to company CTO Jack Sun speaking to the International Electronics Forum 2010 in Dresden.

"The trouble is that you can't get tools (from ASML). The lead times have extended..."

"We booked one billion euro worth of orders in the first quarter of 2010 and expect a similar level of bookings in the second quarter," said ASML CEO Eric Meurice.

Toshiba plans to spend 15 billion yen (US$160 million) in 2010 to build a test production line for advanced flash memory chips, according to the Nikkei business daily. The NAND flash memory vendor has already ordered chip-making equipment from ASML to produce microchips with circuitry widths of less than 25 nanometres.

That's good news for Samsung, but bad news for its memory rivals that use ASML's tools, such as Elpida, Hynix, IM Flash, Micron, Nanya and others. NAND rival Toshiba is said to use scanners from Nikon.

We closed the year as planned with improved sales and strong bookings, as the semiconductor business recovers driven by technology and capacity buys from major Foundry customers and the memory market segments, according to ASML president and CEO Eric Meurice.

The world's largest maker of semiconductor lithography machines, which map out electronic circuits on silicon wafers, was forecast to report a further rise in bookings from the third quarter, driven by consumer spending on end products.

"We didn't buy immersion from Nikon according the filing. We still buy from ASML...

For years, TSMC has primarily used ASML as its lithography vendor. But in a surprise move, TSMC has procured a new 193nm immersion lithography scanner from Nikon.