Samsung plans High-NA EUV for DRAM production by 2028

Samsung Electronics is betting that the most expensive machines ever built for chipmaking will give it a decisive edge in the memory wars. The company announced an enhanced strategic partnership with ASML on September 8, 2026, committing to deploy High-NA EUV lithography in mass production of DRAM by 2028. If Samsung hits that target, it would mark the first time any chipmaker has used High-NA EUV technology in the DRAM sector. What High-NA EUV actually means EUV lithography, or extreme ultraviolet lithography, is the technology that prints impossibly tiny circuit patterns onto silicon wafers using light with a wavelength of just 13.5 nanometers. “High-NA” refers to a higher numerical aperture in the lens system — rising from 0.33 to 0.55 — which allows the machine to print even finer patterns with better resolution. The practical benefit for DRAM: fewer manufacturing steps, tighter circuit patterns, and better efficiency. High-NA EUV facilitates single-exposure capabilities, simplifying the previously complex multi-patterning required by older EUV equipment. These machines don’t come cheap. Each High-NA EUV tool costs between $350 million and $400 million. The 12-inch photomask sh...