# Chipmakers coordinate push for 12-inch photomasks to cut costs

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/asml-and-tsmc-want-bigger-masks-for-smaller-chips/
- Published: 2026-09-08T15:02:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-08T15:30:20+00:00
- Original publisher: The Register
- Original article: https://www.theregister.com/systems/2026/09/08/asml-and-tsmc-want-bigger-masks-for-smaller-chips/5294982
- Topics: Software

## Key points

- ASML, TSMC push for 12-inch photomasks to cut chipmaking costs
- Intel Foundry and Samsung also back the transition plan
- Pilot line targeted for 2031, production-ready systems by 2033

## Summary

ASML and TSMC have launched an industry-wide push to move to 12-inch photomasks, arguing the larger format would cut costs and remove production constraints tied to the firms' new high-NA EUV lithography systems. Intel Foundry and Samsung Electronics have also backed the initiative, which matters because it sets a coordinated roadmap for an industry transition that individual chipmakers would struggle to drive alone, given ASML's position as the sole commercial supplier of EUV equipment.

The scheme targets a 12-inch mask pilot line by 2031, with supporting lithography systems ready for advanced-node production by 2033. High-NA EUV currently uses anamorphic optics to keep working with existing 6-inch masks, but this halves the exposure field, forcing large chip designs to be "stitched" together from two exposures, adding complexity. TSMC plans to adopt high-NA EUV in high-volume manufacturing from 2030, Samsung aims to be first to use it for DRAM by 2028, and Intel Foundry is focused on near-term enablement on 6-inch masks while transitioning to the larger format.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.