imec installs advanced high NA EUV system

25 Mar 2026

Describing it as “major milestone toward propelling industry into the Ångstrom era”.

imec, a Belgium-based research and innovation hub in advanced semiconductor technologies, has announced the installation of a ASML EXE:5200 High NA EUV lithography system – describing it as “the most advanced lithography tool available today”.

The company’s announcement stated, “With this strategic milestone, imec reinforces its position as the industry’s launchpad into the angstrom era, giving its global partners ecosystem unparalleled early access to the next generation of chip-scaling technologies.”

Integrated directly with a suite of patterning and metrology tools and materials, the High NA EUV system will enable imec and partners to access the performance needed to pioneer sub-2nm logic and high-density memory technologies to drive growth of advanced AI and high-performance computing.

‘Pioneering High NA EUV technology’

Luc Van den hove, CEO of imec, said, “The past two years have marked an important chapter for High NA (0.55NA) EUV lithography, with imec and ASML joining forces with the ecosystem in its joint lab in Veldhoven to pioneer High NA EUV technology. With the installation of the EXE:5200 High NA EUV lithography system into our 300mm cleanroom in Leuven, we aim to bring these patterning technologies to an industry-relevant scale.

“Its unmatched resolution, improved overlay performance, high throughput, and a new wafer stocker that improves process stability and throughput, will give our partners a decisive advantage in accelerating the development of sub-2nm chip technologies. As the industry moves into the Ångstrom era, High NA EUV will be a cornerstone capability, and imec is proud to lead the way by offering its partners the earliest and most comprehensive access to this technology.”

This achievement is a key part of imec’s five-year strategic partnership with ASML supported by the EU (under the Chips Joint Undertaking and IPCEI), the Flemish government, and the Dutch government. Van den hove added, “As an integral part of the EU funded NanoIC pilot line, the tool is set to play a pivotal role in strengthening Europe’s position as a leader in advanced semiconductor R&D in the decades to come.”

“Having the new lithography system in imec’s cleanroom positions the research center as a comprehensive development environment for advanced patterning. imec’s ecosystem collaboration with chip manufacturers, equipment, material and resist suppliers, mask companies, and metrology experts will allow us to ramp up learning cycles to develop cutting-edge patterning for next generation logic and memory device technology,” said Van den hove

Christophe Fouquet, CEO of ASML, commented, “imec’s installation of the EXE:5200 marks an important step into the Ångstrom era. Together, we’re accelerating High NA EUV extendibility for the next generations of advanced memory and compute.”