High-NA EUV (TWINSCAN EXE)
Overview
The 0.55 NA anamorphic-optics scanners for sub-2nm chipmaking - at ~$380M each, the most expensive production tools ever built. The production-grade EXE:5200B (175 wafers/hour, ~60% faster than the EXE:5000) installed at Intel in Q4 2025 for the 14A node; on July 15, 2026 select layers of Intel's Panther Lake (18A) chips became the first High-NA-patterned product to reach high-volume manufacturing. Samsung, SK hynix, and imec hold the rest of a worldwide fleet still under a dozen systems; TSMC has ruled out High-NA through 2029.
High-volume validation achieved via Intel Panther Lake (18A, Jul 2026); Intel 14A risk production in 2027 is the next insertion; Samsung reportedly holding its units back from mass production on cost grounds; TSMC has ruled out adoption through its A16/A14/A13/A12 nodes (production planned through 2029)