Company agrees with ASML to purchase latest EUV equipment
By Kim Yoo-chul
Samsung Electronics is gearing up to strike back against its logic chip-making rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) by advancing its chip-making technology.
It has agreed with Dutch-based ASML to deploy extreme ultraviolet (EUV) equipment for mass production in their 7 nanometer processes.
"Samsung Electronics representatives including one executive vice president visited ASML headquarters in the first week of May," an official who is directly involved with the issue told The Korea Times, Sunday.
"Samsung agreed to purchase ASML's latest NXE3400 EUV equipment, a deal which is worth millions of dollars, to deploy the equipment in 7nm processing technology."
ASML is the top supplier in the world of photolithography systems for the semiconductor industry. It manufactures machines for the production of integrated circuits such as CPUs and memory chips.
The official said the latest decision by Samsung was intended to diversify the company's logic customer base given some losses of Apple and to further improve sales and operating margins.
"The installation of the upcoming EUV in Samsung's logic chip line is expected to be completed in the first half of 2017, at the earliest. This is the first time for Samsung to deploy an EUV in its chip-manufacturing line," said the official.
The official added that its parts suppliers and clients have been notified of the plan.
EUV lithography uses 13.5-nm wavelengths of UV light to image much finer features and avoid the cumbersome and expensive multi-patterning process.
The reason EUV has taken so long to come to the market is that working with wavelengths of light this small is incredibly difficult, making TSMC hesitant to introduce EUV until they hit the 5nm node.
In the semiconductor industry, a 7nm node offers much better performance than 10nm. But cost is a factor, as a company should spend more for the development of narrower logic chips.
The Samsung plan, therefore, is looking ambitious. However, the partnership with ASML could help Samsung cut the costs over TSMC, given its abundance of cash.
Business diversification
While Samsung is the longtime global leader in memory chips, which are considered commodities, the company's standing in the logic chip business is still weak. TSMC is the longtime leader in this segment.
Samsung's manufacture of application processors ― the chips functioning as the brain to control an entire system ― for Apple was previously a key to its growth. However, Samsung lost its key Apple business to TSMC in 20nm.
Although Samsung made a comeback in 16-nano and 14-nano to fabricate Apple's A-branded series processor chips, TSMC was named the exclusive supplier of the iPhone 7's processor which will be introduced in the second half of this year, a big blow to Samsung.
The void is currently being filled in by U.S.-based mobile chipset titan Qualcomm, which designated Samsung as its sole partner on 10nm and 14nm.
"Despite some delay, Samsung will be the first mover to 10nm (to fabricate Qualcomm's new Snapdragon-branded processor chips), while TSMC will catch up on a larger scale later. As the 10nm level is a transitory node and the high cost will make the products using that level smaller than older tech, Samsung plans to win back the Apple business in the 7nm level," said another official.
To keep factories operating without voids, Samsung Electronics is appealing to MediaTek, Nvidia and HiSilicon for contracts to fabricate their design chips.
"With aggressive pricing, the Samsung Electronics-GlobalFoundries alliance is keen to work with Apple, again, in the 7nm node. The licensing agreement between Samsung and GlobalFoundries eased the concerns of a business model conflict."
By Kim Yoo-chul
Samsung Electronics is gearing up to strike back against its logic chip-making rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) by advancing its chip-making technology.
It has agreed with Dutch-based ASML to deploy extreme ultraviolet (EUV) equipment for mass production in their 7 nanometer processes.
"Samsung Electronics representatives including one executive vice president visited ASML headquarters in the first week of May," an official who is directly involved with the issue told The Korea Times, Sunday.
"Samsung agreed to purchase ASML's latest NXE3400 EUV equipment, a deal which is worth millions of dollars, to deploy the equipment in 7nm processing technology."
ASML is the top supplier in the world of photolithography systems for the semiconductor industry. It manufactures machines for the production of integrated circuits such as CPUs and memory chips.
The official said the latest decision by Samsung was intended to diversify the company's logic customer base given some losses of Apple and to further improve sales and operating margins.
"The installation of the upcoming EUV in Samsung's logic chip line is expected to be completed in the first half of 2017, at the earliest. This is the first time for Samsung to deploy an EUV in its chip-manufacturing line," said the official.
The official added that its parts suppliers and clients have been notified of the plan.
EUV lithography uses 13.5-nm wavelengths of UV light to image much finer features and avoid the cumbersome and expensive multi-patterning process.
The reason EUV has taken so long to come to the market is that working with wavelengths of light this small is incredibly difficult, making TSMC hesitant to introduce EUV until they hit the 5nm node.
In the semiconductor industry, a 7nm node offers much better performance than 10nm. But cost is a factor, as a company should spend more for the development of narrower logic chips.
The Samsung plan, therefore, is looking ambitious. However, the partnership with ASML could help Samsung cut the costs over TSMC, given its abundance of cash.
Business diversification
While Samsung is the longtime global leader in memory chips, which are considered commodities, the company's standing in the logic chip business is still weak. TSMC is the longtime leader in this segment.
Samsung's manufacture of application processors ― the chips functioning as the brain to control an entire system ― for Apple was previously a key to its growth. However, Samsung lost its key Apple business to TSMC in 20nm.
Although Samsung made a comeback in 16-nano and 14-nano to fabricate Apple's A-branded series processor chips, TSMC was named the exclusive supplier of the iPhone 7's processor which will be introduced in the second half of this year, a big blow to Samsung.
The void is currently being filled in by U.S.-based mobile chipset titan Qualcomm, which designated Samsung as its sole partner on 10nm and 14nm.
"Despite some delay, Samsung will be the first mover to 10nm (to fabricate Qualcomm's new Snapdragon-branded processor chips), while TSMC will catch up on a larger scale later. As the 10nm level is a transitory node and the high cost will make the products using that level smaller than older tech, Samsung plans to win back the Apple business in the 7nm level," said another official.
To keep factories operating without voids, Samsung Electronics is appealing to MediaTek, Nvidia and HiSilicon for contracts to fabricate their design chips.
"With aggressive pricing, the Samsung Electronics-GlobalFoundries alliance is keen to work with Apple, again, in the 7nm node. The licensing agreement between Samsung and GlobalFoundries eased the concerns of a business model conflict."
