Expose TSMC to acquire ASML's high-NA EUV chip maker in 2024

Nanotechnology in the semiconductor industry is currently very competitive. Although the industry is in an absolute monopoly, the competition among several target companies is also very cruel. Among them, the big brother TSMC currently occupies an absolute advantage in the industry. Still, TSMC's 3-nanometer technology has been at the center of several controversies this year, as rival Samsung Corp preemptively announced mass production in the first half of the year, and market reports said TSMC would cut capital due to Intel Corp's order issues expenditure.

According to a supply chain update, TSMC is targeting mass production of its 2-nanometer (nm) semiconductor manufacturing process in 2025. TSMC is currently gearing up to ramp up production of its 3nm node, considered one of the most advanced chip manufacturing technologies in the world, and they say they will continue to lead the global semiconductor industry with next-generation technologies.

TSMC will also acquire ASML's high-NA EUV chip maker in 2024. The details were shared by Dr. Y.J. Mii, TSMC's senior vice president of R&D and technology, and reported by United News (UDN). A key constraint in the chipmaking industry, and often a key factor in determining whether a company can gain a head start over its competitors.

Manufacturing technologies covering advanced 7nm and smaller products require the use of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) to print billions of tiny circuits on a small scale, currently used only by TSMC, Samsung and Intel in the world. However, further advances in chip-making technology, involving further shrinking of circuit sizes, will make it difficult for chipmakers to continue using these machines.

In the next phase of chip manufacturing, manufacturers will move to machines with larger lenses. These are called high NA (numerical aperture), and TSMC will receive them in 2024. From this, the machines will be used to make chips on a 2-nanometer manufacturing process, as the executive also stressed that the technology will enter mass production in 2025.