Chipmakers back larger masks that could lift ASML High-NA output by 40%

Samsung, TSMC and Intel have committed to a larger photomask standard for ASML’s newest lithography systems, according to The Decoder’s account of industry reporting. Moving from six-inch to 12-inch masks could increase the throughput of High-NA extreme-ultraviolet machines by 40%.

A photomask acts as a stencil carrying a chip’s circuit pattern. A larger format can expose more area at once and reduce some of the complexity created when large chips must be split and connected. Intel already operates High-NA machines; Samsung plans high-volume use in 2028, while TSMC and ASML plan a test line by 2031 and production use in 2033. Individual machines can cost up to $400 million.

The timeline shows that this is an industrial commitment rather than an immediate capacity increase. Coordinating the three largest customers matters for ASML because changing mask standards is expensive across the supply chain.

China is pursuing a separate route around export controls, led by domestic deep-ultraviolet equipment development. Those systems can produce advanced chips through more complex multi-patterning, but key lens and light-source components remain bottlenecks. For leading-edge AI accelerators, ASML’s unique EUV position therefore remains intact for now.