Each low-numerical aperture (NA) extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography system costs over US$100 million, making it one of the most expensive semiconductor manufacturing tools in history. This raises a key question: How many of these advanced EUV systems does TSMC possess, especially considering that the foundry giant is taking a measured approach toward next-generation high-NA EUV equipment?
While TSMC and ASML have not disclosed the exact number of EUV systems TSMC has acquired, reports from AnandTech and The Register indicate that TSMC's share of global EUV system installations has grown from 50% to 56% between 2020 and 2023.
In response to a recent inquiry about TSMC's adoption of high-NA EUV, The Register revealed data that has generated significant discussion on the SemiWiki forum.
In its statement to The Register, TSMC explained that it will carefully evaluate new technological innovations, such as advanced transistor structures and new tools, based on their maturity, cost, and potential benefits to customers, before considering integrating high-NA EUV systems into its mass production processes.
The company highlighted that, as revealed at its 2024 Technology Symposium earlier this year, the number of EUV systems in its operations had grown tenfold by 2023 compared to 2019, now representing 56% of the global EUV installation base.
Industry sources estimate that, based on TSMC's acquisition of 84 EUV systems in 2022 and more than 100 in 2023, the company likely operated about 10 EUV systems when it successfully launched the industry's first commercial EUV lithography process in 2019—specifically for the second version of its 7nm technology, N7+.
TSMC's N7+ process was the first to utilize EUV lithography, and subsequent processes like N5 and N3 continue to leverage EUV technology.
Beyond TSMC's N7+, N5, and N3 processes, Samsung Foundry has also implemented EUV technology for its 7LPP, 5nm, and 3nm GAA processes, while additionally incorporating EUV into its DRAM production.
