At the 2026 Next-Generation Lithography + Patterning Conference (NGL 2026) the company said it would stick to its 2nm process for three years before introducing introducing a 1.4nm process in 2029.
TSMC has announced production readiness of its first post-2nm process – its 1.6nm A16 process for H2 2026.
When Samsung does move to its first post-2nm process in 2029 – a 1.4nm process – it will not use the High-NA EUV machine.
“We wanted to apply High-NA EUV to mass production at nodes such as 2nm and 1.4nm, but the technology still requires further improvements,” said Chang Min Park, master vice-president of technology at Samsung Electronics, at NGL 2026. “We believe High-NA EUV will become necessary from A10 and below, and we are conducting joint development with various partners.”
When working on his Terafab project, Elon Musk came to the conclusion that High-NA delivered: “Half the chip for twice as much, for a gain that is relatively small.”
That’s because High-NA tools cost twice as much as low-NA tools, deliver only modest density gains and have a smaller exposure field, which can mean larger chips require die stitching, which can affect performance.