The foundry (semiconductor outsourcing) industry leader, Taiwan’s TSMC, has stoked competition in the upcoming 2 nanometer (nm) ultra-fine process technology by acquiring a stake in a global extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photomask manufacturing company.

According to industry sources and foreign media on the 13th, TSMC recently held a provisional board meeting and resolved to acquire a 10% stake in IMS, an Austrian EUV lithography equipment photomask manufacturer owned by Intel.

This acquisition by TSMC has caught the industry by surprise. IMS dominates the market for EUV lithography equipment photomasks, holding a 98% share. Intel acquired IMS in 2016, having initially invested in 2009. Last June, Intel sold approximately 20% of its IMS stake to the private equity firm Bain Capital.

Photomasks contain the design of semiconductor circuits. When light passes through a photomask, a pattern is etched onto a silicon wafer. The “multi-beam mask writer” produced by IMS, which allows for more precise and rapid production of photomasks, has been described as a game-changer for the semiconductor industry.

Industry insiders even suggest that without IMS’s equipment, ASML’s EUV lithography devices would be rendered useless. “This decision seems to be in anticipation of ASML’s next-generation lithography equipment, the High-NA EUV,” said a semiconductor industry insider, noting that “with the increased importance of lithography equipment in the sub-7 nm ultra-fine process, TSMC is advancing beyond its existing technological collaborations.”

Samsung Electronics, which is chasing TSMC, had acquired a 3.0% stake in ASML for about 700 billion won in 2012 for future lithography machine development collaboration. In 2016, it sold half of its ASML stake for investment recovery, and as of the end of the 2nd quarter this year it retains only a 0.7% stake.

Despite Samsung’s reduced stake in ASML, industry experts believe the collaborative relationship between the two remains strong. Samsung Electronics is reportedly gearing up to secure volumes of the next-gen EUV lithography equipment known as High-NA, which is expected to be released as a prototype later this year and to be supplied in earnest next year. SK hynix, TSMC, and Intel are also anticipated to join the race for this next-gen lithography equipment.

On another note, there is escalating competition among semiconductor companies concerning 2 nm processes. TSMC announced last June that it had begun preparations for the pilot production of its 2 nm products, intent on maintaining its lead. Samsung Electronics, however, plans to overtake with its previously developed Gate-All-Around process. Intense competition in ultra-fine processes is expected as both Intel and Rapidus also jump into the 2 nm race.

source : Jasmine Choi (Businesskorea)