This is playing right into Canatu’s hands.
Samsung Introduces ‘EUV Pellicle’ First in US Taylor Fab… Mass Production Imminent
Samsung Electronics will first introduce the key component ‘Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Pellicle’ to enhance productivity in advanced semiconductor processes at its Taylor fab under construction in the US. Although its adoption had been unclear until now, the company has essentially confirmed it by placing orders for key equipment.
According to industry sources on the 22nd, Samsung Electronics has ordered EUV pellicle facilities for its Taylor fab in Texas, USA. FST has secured a contract worth 25 billion won to supply EUV pellicle attachment/detachment equipment and inspection equipment.
The EUV pellicle is an ultra-thin protective component mounted on the photomask during the exposure process. Semiconductors are created by shining light onto a photomask with pre-drawn circuits to transfer them onto the wafer. Applying the EUV pellicle prevents fine particles or contaminants from adhering to the photomask surface, thereby mitigating yield reductions.
To use the EUV pellicle in exposure equipment, dedicated tools for attachment/detachment and inspection equipment to check its condition are required, and these will be introduced to the Taylor fab for the first time. The FST equipment supports not only next-generation carbon nanotube (CNT) EUV pellicles but also existing metal silicide (MeSi) EUV pellicles.
Previously, competitor TSMC has been gradually introducing Mitsui Chemicals’ metal silicide EUV pellicle since 2019 and applying it to advanced processes.
Samsung Electronics has been pushing for the localization of EUV pellicles by investing in S&STech and FST in 2020 and 2021, respectively. With this latest equipment investment, it is analyzed that sufficient performance has been achieved, signaling that adoption is imminent. This implies that the pellicle’s key performance metrics—durability and transmittance—have reached satisfactory levels.
An industry official stated, “The quality evaluation of the EUV pellicle is currently ongoing, but the introduction of equipment premised on mass production application at the Taylor fab is a positive development,” adding, “It is expected to expand to memory processes in the future, starting with system semiconductor processes.” The Taylor fab is a semiconductor manufacturing facility that Samsung Electronics is building with the goal of commencing 2-nanometer (nm) mass production in the second half of this year. Tesla’s artificial intelligence (AI) chip ‘AI5’ is also slated for mass production there within the year.
Samsung Electronics currently possesses over 70 EUV machines, ranking second after TSMC. As such, the adoption of domestically produced EUV pellicles is expected to have a substantial ripple effect on the equipment and components industry. The price of an EUV pellicle is estimated to be over 60 million won.
If I understood correctly:
- EUV lithography is in use in the production of the latest memories (as I speculated in my previous post)
- Mass production is starting (in my opinion, this still refers to HBM4 or similar memories)
- Samsung is introducing the use of pellicles as part of production at US fabs during H2.
- Assuming that the current ‘hundreds of wafers per day at a certain location’ is likely pre-production at some existing fab (e.g., Korea), then this news would suggest expanding the technology to the US side as well. This involves some uncertainty, but interpreting this through “Finnish lenses”…
- in any case, this increases the certainty of Canatu’s products being used in one or more fabs already this year.