TSMC delays High‑NA adoption
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. told reporters it has no current plan to use ASML’s High‑NA extreme ultraviolet tools for production through 2029, extending its reliance on existing EUV systems for leading-edge chips. - ASML’s newest High‑NA scanners sell for more than €350 million, about $410 million, each, and TSMC deputy co-chief operating officer Kevin Zhang said the company can keep scaling without them for now. - ASML raised its 2026 sales outlook to €36 billion-€40 billion on April 15, even as TSMC’s stance questions how fast High‑NA demand broadens. (asml.com)
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is pushing back High-NA chipmaking tools and plans to keep using ASML’s current extreme ultraviolet machines through 2029. (bloomberg.com) High-NA is the next version of extreme ultraviolet lithography, the light-based process that prints tiny circuit patterns onto silicon wafers. The upgrade uses a wider lens opening to draw finer features in fewer steps, but the machines cost more than €350 million, or about $410 million, each. (bloomberg.com) Kevin Zhang, TSMC’s deputy co-chief operating officer, said the company has “no need” to use High-NA for its production nodes through 2029, according to Bloomberg’s report from TSMC’s technology event. TSMC instead plans to squeeze more capability from its installed 0.33 numerical aperture EUV fleet. (bloomberg.com) (techpowerup.com) That position lines up with TSMC’s public roadmap. In April 2025, the company said its A14 process was on track for production in 2028, and recent roadmap reporting has pointed to A13 and A12 production targets stretching into 2029. (tsmc.com) (digitimes.com) ASML, meanwhile, is still projecting growth. On April 15, the Dutch equipment maker reported first-quarter 2026 net sales of €8.8 billion and raised its full-year sales outlook to €36 billion to €40 billion. (asml.com) The tension is that ASML can lift revenue without immediate High-NA volume orders from every top customer. Its 2026 guidance is being supported by broader demand for chipmaking tools, while High-NA remains a more selective purchase. (asml.com) (cnbc.com) TSMC’s choice also undercuts the idea that every next-generation process must adopt every next-generation machine on the earliest timetable. The company has argued it can reach its A16 and A14 targets with current EUV tools and its own process integration work. (tech.yahoo.com) (techpowerup.com) Other chipmakers are taking a different path. Reuters-reported coverage cited by TrendForce said Intel had already put two ASML High-NA systems into production work and processed 30,000 wafers in a quarter, showing the tools are moving ahead even without TSMC. (trendforce.com) For ASML, the immediate hit is less about 2026 revenue than about how quickly its most expensive machines become standard equipment. For TSMC, the message is narrower: if older EUV tools still meet yield, power, and cost targets, the $410 million upgrade can wait. (bloomberg.com) (asml.com)
