SK Hynix Installs ASML's High-NA EUV Scanner As the First Memory Manufacturer

Semiconductor Manufacturing SK Hynix Installs ASML's High-NA EUV Scanner As the First Memory Manufacturer

2025-09-09 From Manuel Christa | Translated by AI 2 min Reading Time

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SK hynix Deutschland GmbH

ASML Netherlands B.V.

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SK Hynix has installed ASML's High-NA EUV system Twinscan EXE:5200B at its M16 factory in Icheon, South Korea. The system is initially intended to accelerate development work and later transition to mass production of DRAM.

ASML's High NA EUV system Twinscan EXE:5200B: Now also at SK Hynix(Image: ASML) — ASML's High NA EUV system Twinscan EXE:5200B: Now also at SK Hynix
(Image: ASML)

The move is strategic: The optics with a numerical aperture of 0.55 significantly advance the resolution compared to previous EUV systems (NA 0.33). ASML states a resolution of up to 8 nm for High-NA EUVL. SK Hynix intends to use it to write finer structures with fewer exposure steps, reduce multipatterning, and save time in the process flow. It is now clear that the system mentioned by ASML in July 2025 has ended up at SK Hynix.

Why High-NA Matters for DRAM

According to the manufacturer, the EXE:5200B prints transistor structures 1.7 times smaller, achieving 2.9 times higher packing density compared to current low-NA EUV scanners. For DRAM layouts, this means tighter pitch limits for word/bit lines and more aggressive cell geometries—without adding a cascade of extra masks. This increases yield potential if process windows and stochastic effects can be controlled.

In the first step, SK Hynix plans to use the tool for prototyping and process development. Tom's Hardware reports that the scanner is initially intended to support the rapid validation of structures and materials, before High-NA is later deployed where Low-NA plus DUV reach physical limits. At the same time, the manufacturer is preparing the transition to volume production.

Timeline, Costs, Integration

The installation in Icheon was completed about half a year earlier than originally planned. Industry media estimate the unit price of a High-NA scanner to be around 600 billion won (450 million US dollars). Beyond the tool itself, the integration requires additional capital: new anamorphic mask flows, customized metrology, coater/developer tracks, and facility modifications for a system the size of a double-decker bus.

For the productivity of the EXE:5200B model, target figures of around 175 wafers per hour are circulating, approximately 60 percent more than its predecessor, the EXE:5000. To maintain pace with a halved exposure field (anamorphic optics), ASML relies on faster wafer and reticle stages. The key remains the dose balance: high resolution and speed without excessive stochastic defects.

With the early High-NA deployment, SK Hynix gains time in development and options for the next DRAM generation and HBM variants. While Samsung has a pre-series High-NA system (EXE:5000) in the pipeline, the 5200B in a production facility sends a clear signal. Whether and when High-NA EUVL will broadly enter DRAM volume production depends on yield curves, mask costs, and the actual savings potential in multipatterning. (mc)

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Date: 08.12.2025

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