Benzinga | Dec 10, 2021 08:03AM EST

ASML Aims To Make Next-Gen Chips Below 3-Nm: All You Need To Know

ASML Holding NV (NASDAQ:ASML) is exclusively working on a new version of its extreme ultraviolet lithography machine, CNBC reports. The device can carve patterns onto pieces of silicon that form the most advanced chips in the world.

* Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (NYSE: TSM), Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (OTC: SSNLF), and Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC) use ASML's current EUV machine to make chips that end up in the latest crop of computers and smartphones.

* A new version of the EUV machine in the pipeline, dubbed High NA (numerical aperture), could allow chipmakers to build even more sophisticated chips to power the next generation of electronic devices.

* Today, ASML is worth $329 billion, and tech investors expect it to be worth $500 billion by the end of 2022.

* The TSMC chips in the latest Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhones created with ASML's EUV machines have around 10 billion transistors on them.

* The High NA machine has a higher resolution that will enable 1.7x more minor chip features and 2.9x increased chip density.

* Intel looks to be the first recipient of ASML's High NA machine. The first High NA machine will be available for early access from 2023.

* Customers will then be able to use them for their research and development in 2024 and 2025. They're likely to be used in high-volume manufacturing from 2025 onward.

* A semiconductor analyst said ASML's new machine would allow chip manufacturers to make chips below three nanometers.

* The High NA machines will cost about $300 million, twice as much as the existing EUV machines, and require complex new lens technology.

* Price Action: ASML shares traded higher by 0.25% at $774.54 in the premarket session on the last check Friday.