Imec Installs $400M ASML EXE:5200 High-NA EUV — One of Fewer Than 12 Worldwide — Targeting Sub-2nm by Q4 2026

By NineScrolls Team · 2026-04-01 · 4 min read · Industry

What Happened

On March 18, 2026, Belgium-based research center imec announced that it has received and installed the ASML EXE:5200, the most advanced High-NA EUV lithography system in the world. The tool — valued at roughly $400 million — is now operating in imec's 300mm cleanroom in Leuven. Fewer than a dozen EXE:5200 units exist globally. Imec expects full qualification by Q4 2026.

The installation is part of a five-year strategic partnership between imec and ASML, backed by EU funding through the Chips Joint Undertaking and IPCEI programs, with additional support from the Flemish and Dutch governments. The system is integrated into imec's NanoIC pilot line, where leading chip manufacturers, equipment suppliers, materials companies, resist suppliers, and metrology firms collaborate on next-generation process development.

The EXE:5200: What Makes It Different

The EXE:5200 operates at a numerical aperture of 0.55 — a significant jump that enables chip features up to 66% smaller than the previous generation of EUV systems. Key performance improvements include higher resolution, tighter overlay, greater throughput, and a new wafer stocker that enhances process stability.

"High NA EUV is a cornerstone capability for the ångström era," said imec CEO Luc Van den hove. ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet added: "Together, we're accelerating High NA EUV extendibility for next generations of advanced memory and compute." ASML expects high-volume manufacturing on the platform to begin in 2027–2028, with 2026 focused on ensuring uptime and process maturity at customer sites. More than 300,000 wafers have already been processed across all installed High-NA systems worldwide.

The Global High-NA Race: Intel, Samsung, SK Hynix

Imec is not alone. Intel completed acceptance testing of its own EXE:5200B in late 2025, making it the first chipmaker with a commercial High-NA tool. SK hynix installed a unit at its DRAM fab in September 2025. Samsung received its first High-NA scanner in late 2025 and expects a second unit in the first half of 2026, both destined for 2nm foundry lines.

The competitive dynamic is clear: every major logic and memory manufacturer is racing to qualify High-NA EUV for volume production at the 2nm node and below. ASML projects its EUV business — now the company's largest revenue segment — will continue to grow rapidly through 2026 and into 2027.

What Sub-2nm Means for Plasma Processing and Thin Film Deposition

Higher lithographic resolution does not reduce the need for deposition and etch — it intensifies it. At sub-2nm geometries with gate-all-around (GAA) transistor architectures, every preceding and succeeding process step must match the precision of the patterning tool. That places enormous new demands on the plasma processing and thin film deposition equipment supply chain.

GAA devices require atomic-precision layer-by-layer deposition of channel materials, gate dielectrics, and work-function metals. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) becomes mandatory rather than optional for high-k/metal gate stacks at these dimensions. Plasma-enhanced ALD (PEALD) and plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD) must deliver sub-angstrom thickness control and near-perfect conformality across deeply recessed nanosheet structures.

On the etch side, the challenge is equally steep. Selective atomic layer etch (ALE) is required to remove sacrificial layers in the nanosheet release process without damaging surrounding materials. Conventional reactive ion etch (RIE) lacks the selectivity and precision needed at these scales. Equipment makers including Lam Research and Tokyo Electron are actively developing cryogenic etch, high-selectivity plasma etch, and quasi-atomic-layer etch platforms to meet these requirements.

Equipment Supply Chain Implications

The ripple effects extend deep into the equipment supply chain. Sub-2nm process flows demand tighter specifications across the board: ultra-high-purity gas delivery systems capable of sub-ppb contamination control, advanced plasma sources with precise ion energy distribution, high-uniformity sputtering targets for PVD metallization, and real-time in-situ process monitoring for deposition and etch chambers.

Vacuum component suppliers face rising demand for chambers, pumps, and seals rated for the extreme cleanliness and temperature uniformity that angstrom-scale processes require. RF and microwave plasma source manufacturers must deliver generators with tighter frequency stability and lower reflected power to support the narrow process windows at sub-2nm nodes.

As ASML pushes the resolution frontier with High-NA EUV, the bottleneck increasingly shifts to whether deposition, etch, and metrology equipment can keep pace. The $400 million lithography tool gets the headlines, but the dozens of plasma and thin film systems surrounding it on the fab floor are what ultimately determine yield.