Next-Gen EUV Lithography: Samsung Decides

Samsung Electronics is pursuing innovation in lithography technology, starting from the 1-nanometer (nm) process, with commercialization expected as early as 2030. The company plans to apply the next-generation extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology—“High Numerical Aperture Extreme Ultraviolet (High-NA EUV)”—to the mass production of the 1nm process and is currently focusing on the development of commercialization technologies.

Mr. Park Chang-min of Samsung Electronics made the above comments on the company’s lithography technology roadmap on the 11th at the “2026 Next-Generation Lithography + Patterning Conference (NGL 2026)” held at the Suwon Conference Center in Gyeonggi-do. Lithography refers to the process of etching circuits onto semiconductor wafers.

Samsung Electronics has already applied extreme ultraviolet lithography technology to mass production, first in advanced foundry processes of 8 nanometers or smaller. Compared with the argon fluoride (ArF) materials used in traditional semiconductor lithography processes, the wavelength of extreme ultraviolet lithography is 1/13 as short (13.5 nanometers).

Thanks to this, ultra-fine processes that originally required multiple exposures (multi-patterning) can now be completed with fewer exposures, or even a single exposure. Reducing the number of exposures helps lower manufacturing costs and improve production efficiency.