Intel says it has become the first company to ship high-volume commercial logic chips manufactured with ASML's next-generation lithography technology, known as High-NA EUV.
The chips in question are Intel's Panther Lake processors, built on the company's 18A manufacturing process. According to Interesting Engineering, Panther Lake is now entering high-volume manufacturing using High-NA EUV, making Intel the first to ship commercial high-volume logic products built with the technology.
According to Tom's Hardware, select layers of Panther Lake on 18A are "dual-qualified" for 0.55 NA scanners — ASML's High-NA machines — meaning those chip layers can be produced on the new tools. Thelec.net reports that Intel Foundry has deployed the High-NA EUV tools in high-volume production.
Lithography is the step where circuit patterns are printed onto silicon wafers, and finer patterns allow for denser, more capable chips. High-NA EUV, supplied by Dutch equipment maker ASML, represents the newest and most advanced generation of these printing tools.
TechRepublic frames the move as a key test of Intel's manufacturing comeback, noting the company is using ASML's High-NA EUV to produce Panther Lake and calling it an early lead in High-NA chipmaking.
Why it matters: being first to run one of the industry's most advanced manufacturing tools at high volume is a signal that Intel, after years of stumbles, may be regaining ground against rivals in the race to build the world's most cutting-edge chips.