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What changedThe BigGo Finance podcast adds useful detail to the High-NA milestone: the technology keeps EUV’s 13.5-nanometre wavelength but raises the optical system’s numerical aperture from 0.33 to 0.55. Host M says the higher resolution could let some critical layers that needed three or four exposures use one instead, reducing process steps.
That gain has a trade-off. The podcast says High-NA’s exposure field is half the size of the previous one, so a large chip may need separate patterns stitched together.
M also cautions that a successful test is not the same as dependable high-volume production: small alignment or connection problems can accumulate into yield losses. The episode frames Intel’s early use as a way to build manufacturing experience, while TSMC’s later adoption reflects a different balance of maturity, cost and risk.
Sources and evidence- Intel's High-NA EUV Hits a Million Wafers — So Why Is TSMC Holding Out Until 2030?｜M亿财富MEmoney – finance.biggo.com: Host M says High-NA increases numerical aperture while retaining EUV’s wavelength, potentially reducing exposures on some layers; its smaller exposure field creates stitching challenges for large chips, and Intel used it on selected Panther Lake layers that avoid crossing the stitch boundary.
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