Lee Jae-yong and Choi Tae-won Accompany President Yoon on Overseas Trip
Semiconductor Industry's Super Eul Visits ASML
Active Work on Introducing 'High NA' Following EUV
The love calls from our government and companies toward ASML, a Dutch semiconductor equipment company known as the super "Eul" (乙) in the semiconductor industry, continue. With President Yoon Suk-yeol, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won visited ASML, turning on the "green light" for securing next-generation extreme ultraviolet (EUV) equipment, which will be fully introduced in 2025.
Chairmen Lee Jae-yong and Chey Tae-won accompanied President Yoon as economic envoys during his Netherlands tour from the 11th to the 15th, visiting ASML on the 12th. Since President Yoon is visiting the site to strengthen semiconductor industry cooperation with the Netherlands, the two heads representing Korea's top semiconductor companies, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, were present together.
Next-generation Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) equipment 'High Numerical Aperture (NA)' to be introduced by Dutch semiconductor equipment company ASML / [Photo by ASML]
The reason our government and companies are showing great interest in ASML is due to its unique business. ASML is the only company in the world that produces EUV lithography equipment essential for ultra-fine processes below 7 nanometers (nm; 1 nm is one-billionth of a meter). The next-generation EUV equipment called "High Numerical Aperture (NA)" for processes below 2 nm is also expected to be introduced soon.
With limited equipment supply, semiconductor companies wanting the latest lithography equipment are lining up, making equipment acquisition a key competitive factor in ultra-fine processes. Last year, ASML announced at its event plans to secure production capacity for 90 EUV machines by 2026 and 20 High NA machines by 2028. The semiconductor industry expects Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, TSMC, and Intel in the U.S. to receive supplies of High NA following EUV. It is reported that many companies have already completed supply contracts.
Samsung Electronics has announced that it will introduce a 2 nm process in its foundry business in 2025, and accordingly will adopt High NA. To this end, Chairman Lee visited the Netherlands in June last year and met with ASML CEO Peter Wennink, building close networking with ASML. In November of the same year, CEO Wennink visited Korea and promised to double the size of the domestic branch and support Korean companies. Samsung Electronics also holds 1,580,407 shares (0.4% as of the end of September) of ASML as part of cooperation and long-term investment.
SK Hynix also needs ASML's EUV and High NA. SK Hynix first mass-produced 10 nm-class 4th generation (1a) DRAM using EUV equipment in 2021. Although it does not currently have an advanced foundry business and thus does not urgently need to adopt High NA, it will need to consider adopting High NA in the future to survive in the ultra-fine process competition. As a preparatory step,
SK Hynix has agreed to cooperate with ASML in technology development at the High NA test lab to be introduced next year by IMEC, the world's largest semiconductor research institute in Belgium.
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