ASML's EXE:5000 High-NA EUV system lifts numerical aperture from 0.33 to 0.55 through new, larger projection optics, pairing that 0.55 NA with a 13.5 nm EUV light source to print at 8 nm resolution. That resolution lets chipmakers print features 1.7 times smaller in a single exposure. ASML says the first chips built on the EXE:5000 will be 2 nm node Logic chips.
How did ASML raise the numerical aperture from 0.33 to 0.55?
ASML's EXE:5000 system reaches a numerical aperture (NA) of 0.55 through new, larger projection opticsCITE:E4, up from the 0.33 NA used in established EUV lithographyCITE:E1. ZEISS SMT, which supplies the optics, describes the shift plainly: established EUV lithography works with a numerical aperture of 0.33, while with High-NA EUV lithography the NA is 0.55CITE:E1. On the tool side, ASML attributes the higher NA specifically to the redesigned, larger projection optics built into the EXE:5000 platformCITE:E4.
What resolution does the 0.55 NA system deliver with a 13.5 nm EUV light source?
ASML's High-NA EUV systems combine 0.55 NA with the company's 13.5 nm EUV light source to print at a resolution of 8 nmCITE:E2. ASML states that this combination — the 0.55 NA optics plus the 13.5 nm light source — provides higher contrast and prints with a resolution of just 8 nmCITE:E2.
How does High-NA EUV compare with ASML's standard NXE EUV systems?
ASML's standard NXE systems, the first to use its 13.5 nm EUV light source, run at a numerical aperture of 0.33CITE:E3, while the EXE:5000's 8 nm resolution lets chipmakers print features 1.7 times smaller in a single exposureCITE:E5. Both platforms share the same 13.5 nm EUV light source lineageCITE:E3CITE:E2, but the NA increase from 0.33 to 0.55 is what ASML credits for enabling the single-exposure feature-size reductionCITE:E1CITE:E5.
Which chips will be the first made with the EXE:5000?
ASML says the first chips made using the EXE:5000 will be 2 nm node Logic chipsCITE:E6.
High-NA EUV vs. standard EUV, by the numbers
| Metric | Standard EUV (NXE) | High-NA EUV (EXE:5000) |
|---|
| Numerical aperture | 0.33CITE:E1CITE:E3 | 0.55CITE:E1CITE:E2 |
| EUV light source | 13.5 nmCITE:E3 | 13.5 nmCITE:E2 |
| Printed resolution | Not specified in ASML's EUV systems overviewCITE:E3 | 8 nmCITE:E2CITE:E5 |
| Single-exposure feature scaling | Baseline | 1.7 times smallerCITE:E5 |
| First named process node | Not specified | 2 nm node LogicCITE:E6 |
What this means
The evidence traces a single mechanical change — larger projection optics pushing NA from 0.33 to 0.55CITE:E1CITE:E4 — through to two downstream, ASML-stated outcomes: an 8 nm printed resolution paired with the same 13.5 nm light source used on standard NXE toolsCITE:E2CITE:E3, and a 1.7-times single-exposure feature-size reductionCITE:E5. ASML has tied that resolution and scaling gain to a specific first customer application: 2 nm node Logic chipsCITE:E6. The chain from optics hardware to node assignment is stated end-to-end across ASML's own product and news pages, with ZEISS SMT's optics figures matching ASML's NA specificationCITE:E1CITE:E2.
Author's Take・EffectStory 編輯部
The technical story here is that ASML solved the NA increase mechanically, through new, larger projection optics, rather than by changing the EUV light source — the EXE:5000 still runs the same 13.5 nm source as the standard NXE line. That matters because it means the 8 nm resolution and the 1.7x single-exposure feature-size gain are optics-driven, not source-driven, which is a more tractable engineering path than developing an entirely new light source. The indicator worth watching next is whether ASML or its customers report additional process nodes or chip types adopting the EXE:5000 beyond the 2 nm node Logic chips it has already named as the first application — that would show whether the optics-based NA gain generalizes past its initial use case.