How EUV Lithography Is Revolutionizing Microchip Manufacturing in 2025

Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUV) is revolutionizing microchip manufacturing in 2025, enabling the production of increasingly smaller and more complex semiconductor architectures. As traditional Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) lithography approaches its technological limits, EUV lithography-with its 13.5-nanometer wavelength-has become the critical driver of the industry, paving the way for 3 nm and 2 nm chip fabrication.

How EUV Lithography Works

At the core of EUV lithography is the process of creating microscopic patterns on silicon wafers using 13.5 nm wavelength light, produced by a high-energy laser rather than a standard lamp. The process involves several key stages:

1. Generating the EUV light source.

   A powerful laser vaporizes microscopic drops of tin (Sn). The resulting plasma emits EUV radiation.

2. Reflection through multilayer mirrors.

   Unlike conventional optics, EUV light cannot pass through lenses-it is absorbed by air and glass. The entire system operates in a vacuum, and light is reflected by molybdenum-silicon mirrors, each retaining only about 70% of the light's energy at every stage.

3. Projection through a photomask.

   The light passes through a reflective mask containing the microchip design. The quality of this mask is key to precise patterning.

4. Photoresist exposure.

   EUV light is projected onto a silicon wafer coated with a light-sensitive photoresist. After exposure and development, the photoresist is washed away in specific areas, forming the microscopic relief of the future chip.

This process enables EUV lithography to create features smaller than 13 nanometers-thousands of times thinner than a human hair. However, such precision demands extraordinary accuracy: even the tiniest vibration or mirror defect can ruin an entire wafer. That's why EUV equipment is considered the most complex machinery ever built in the semiconductor industry.

The Role of ASML and Industry Leaders

While the development of EUV lithography is the result of years of industry-wide effort, Dutch company ASML has emerged as its central player. ASML is the world's only supplier of commercial EUV equipment, making advanced chip production at 5 nm, 3 nm, and below possible.

The first commercial EUV machine, the ASML Twinscan NXE, appeared in 2019-a technological marvel weighing over 180 tons and requiring more than 100,000 parts and hundreds of shipping containers for transport. Laser sources are provided by Germany's Trumpf, mirrors by the American Zygo and German Zeiss, reflecting the international cooperation behind EUV's success.

• TSMC was the first to deploy EUV at scale, manufacturing 7 nm and 5 nm chips for Apple and AMD.
• Samsung advanced further, launching 3 nm production with EUV High-NA (High Numerical Aperture) technology for even greater precision.
• Intel, initially lagging, has invested billions in EUV equipment and new fabs across the US and Europe.

By 2025, approximately 200 EUV systems are operational worldwide, with annual growth. The technology's complexity and cost make ASML a strategic monopoly-without its machines, the advancement of microelectronics would grind to a halt.

EUV vs. DUV: Key Technological Differences

Before EUV, all microelectronics relied on DUV lithography with a 193 nm wavelength. Engineers used intricate techniques-multiple exposures, interferometry, and advanced optics-to push miniaturization, but each new process node drove up costs and complexity.

EUV lithography solved these challenges by offering a wavelength of just 13.5 nm, allowing for single-pass patterning without extra steps. This improved precision, reduced energy consumption, and accelerated chip production.

• Wavelength: 13.5 nm (EUV) vs. 193 nm (DUV)-a huge leap in resolution.
• Optics: EUV uses only mirrors and operates in a vacuum; DUV uses lenses and air.
• Equipment complexity: EUV requires a hermetically sealed vacuum chamber and powerful lasers.
• Cost: An EUV system costs many times more than DUV but saves time and reduces defects.

While DUV powered the 28-7 nm era, EUV has unlocked the path to 5 nm, 3 nm, and even 2 nm nodes. DUV remains in use for larger layers, complementing EUV in hybrid manufacturing flows.

Manufacturing 3 nm and 2 nm Microchips with EUV

The transition to EUV lithography was pivotal for producing microchips at 3 nm and below. At these scales, atomic-level precision determines the performance, energy efficiency, and cost of billions of devices-from smartphones to supercomputers.

Traditional DUV required multiple exposures for each chip layer, increasing error risk and cost. EUV enables single-pass exposure, reducing mask count and simplifying manufacturing. For instance, TSMC cut the number of masks from 80 to about 60 when moving from 7 nm to 5 nm, nearly halving defect rates.

The 3 nm process, introduced by Samsung and TSMC, is based on GAA (Gate-All-Around) transistor architecture, where EUV is essential for forming 3D channels. This has boosted energy efficiency by 30% and performance by 15% compared to the 5 nm generation.

In 2025, test production of 2 nm chips began using advanced High-NA EUV, which offers even higher resolution due to increased numerical aperture. The first such machines, costing over $400 million, are already installed in Intel and TSMC fabs.

EUV has brought humanity to the physical limits of miniaturization, with transistor sizes now comparable to individual silicon molecules. The next step may be atomic-scale lithography and new materials, but EUV made this threshold attainable.

Challenges and Cost of EUV Equipment

Despite its revolutionary impact, EUV lithography remains one of the most complex and expensive technologies in microelectronics. Each system costs over $350-400 million, and with maintenance and infrastructure, the total can reach $1 billion. But the high price is just the beginning.

The main challenge lies in precision and stability. EUV's 13.5 nm wavelength demands a perfect vacuum-just a dust particle can absorb the light. Any vibration or temperature shift can misalign the focus by fractions of a nanometer, enough to ruin a chip layer. EUV rooms are built on separate foundations, equipped with dampers and climate control systems accurate to hundredths of a degree.

Producing mirrors and masks is also a major hurdle. Each mirror has over 100 alternating molybdenum and silicon layers, reflecting about 70% of the light. The beam passes through 10-12 such mirrors, so less than 1% of the original light reaches the wafer, requiring powerful lasers and advanced cooling systems.

Mask replacement is equally difficult: any dust or micro-crack can spoil thousands of chips. Dedicated systems with nanometer-level scanning ensure quality control.

Despite the enormous costs, EUV remains the only way forward for advanced process nodes. While chip manufacturing costs are rising, EUV enables faster, more efficient, and compact processors for everything from smartphones to supercomputers.

The Future of Lithography Beyond EUV

Although EUV lithography is the pinnacle of today's microelectronics, engineers are already developing its successor. The main direction is High-NA EUV, which features a larger numerical aperture for even finer focus and up to 8 nm resolution. This will enable mass production of 2 nm and even 1.4 nm chips.

ASML has unveiled its first EXE:5200 systems, expected at Intel and TSMC fabs by 2026. These machines are twice as large as previous models, require new photomasks and alignment systems, but deliver 60% higher resolution.

Alternative approaches under exploration include:

• E-beam lithography: Patterning with directed electron beams.
• Nanoimprint lithography (NIL): Physically "stamping" nanostructures.
• X-ray lithography: Using soft X-rays for ultra-thin structures.

However, none of these alternatives can yet match EUV for mass production, due to challenges with speed, cost, and stability. The next decade will belong to advanced EUV, with a focus on performance, yield, and photomask affordability.

After 2035, experts anticipate hybrid technologies that combine EUV and quantum lithography, potentially leading to atomic- and molecular-scale computing structures.

Conclusion

EUV lithography has become a symbol of a new era in microchip manufacturing. It broke through the physical limits of traditional photolithography, unlocking 3 nm and 2 nm process nodes and driving progress across the electronics industry.

Despite immense costs, equipment complexity, and stringent cleanliness requirements, EUV has proven indispensable: without it, modern smartphones and energy-efficient processors for data centers and supercomputers would not exist.

In 2025, the world stands at the threshold of the next leap-High-NA EUV, which will further shrink transistors and boost device performance. ASML, TSMC, Samsung, and Intel continue to invest billions in this technology, recognizing that the future of semiconductors depends on it.

EUV lithography is more than just another technological advancement-it is the foundation of a new era. The deeper we delve into the silicon microcosm, the clearer it becomes: it is light-extreme ultraviolet-that continues to illuminate the path of progress.