"Orders have not changed expectations; confidence has already been reassessed." Bank of America: The collaboration of the three giants reinforces the long-term roadmap for High-NA in ASML Holding NV ADR (ASML.US).

On Tuesday, ASML Holding NV ADR (ASML.US) became the center of market attention as Bank of America Corp expressed appreciation for the company's additional chip manufacturing equipment supply agreements with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR (TSM.US), Intel Corporation (INTC.US), and Samsung. The bank's analyst Didier Scemama reaffirmed a "Buy" rating on ASML Holding NV ADR and maintained a target price of 2452. He noted that promoting the construction of a 12-inch photomask ecosystem is crucial for overcoming the current limitations of High-NA technology. On September 8, Dutch lithography giant ASML Holding NV ADR released multiple announcements, revealing commitments to collaborate with the world's largest chip manufacturersTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR, Intel Corporation, and Samsung Electronicson next-generation High Numerical Aperture (High-NA) Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment. The three giants simultaneously disclosed their respective High-NA mass production timelines and jointly initiated a more far-reaching industry initiative: to transition from the decades-old 6-inch photomask standard to 12-inch large-size photomasks. High-NA EUV is seen as a groundbreaking upgrade to the existing EUV lithography technology. The current commercial EUV equipment has a numerical aperture (NA) of 0.33, while High-NA EUV raises this metric to 0.55, significantly improving lithographic resolution. This means chip manufacturers can integrate more transistors on wafers of the same areatransistor sizes can shrink by about 1.7 times, and density can increase nearly threefold. Bank of America analyst Didier Scemama wrote in a report to clients: "These announcements align with our predictions regarding the adoption timeline for High-NA EUV equipment (5 units this year, 6 next year, and reaching 20 by 2030)." He pointed out, "Although these orders did not change our financial forecasts, they significantly enhance market confidence in the industry chain's collaborative advancement based on a unified High-NA roadmap. Intel Corporation's mass production practices indicate that customers can currently apply this technology under existing photomask standards, while the joint initiative among Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR, ASML Holding NV ADR, and Samsung paves a longer-term path for fully unleashing the production efficiency advantages of High-NA." "This is especially important for the increasingly large AI accelerators and GPU photomask sizes, as it allows the relevant designs to avoid yield risks due to stitching processes during manufacturing," Scemama further stated. "The initiative aims to establish a 12-inch photomask pilot line by 2031 and achieve mass production readiness by 2033."