Samsung Electronics and ASML seek to break chipmaking limits with next-generation lithography by 2028

Samsung Electronics is moving with ASML on a technology designed to push past the limits of advanced chip manufacturing. The Korean company plans to join an ASML-led consortium focused on introducing large photomasks and next-generation lithography processes by 2028.

Samsung said on the 8th that it would begin joint research and standardization work on 12-inch photomasks through the consortium. Photomasks are precision disks that transmit light to draw tiny circuit patterns on wafers. They play a central role in determining semiconductor performance and production yield.

Six-inch masks currently serve as the global standard. But next-generation High-NA EUV equipment requires manufacturers to divide circuit patterns into multiple sections and join them through a process known as stitching. The consortium aims to develop a 12-inch mask that could remove those constraints.

Samsung is pursuing the move across both memory and foundry manufacturing as it seeks to overcome the limits of further miniaturization. The larger masks could significantly increase substrate processing speeds and reduce chip production costs.