ASML Holding N.V. (ASML) and Intel Corporation (INTC) announced the latest phase of their longstanding collaboration to advance the cutting edge of semiconductor lithography technology. Intel has issued its first purchase order to ASML for the delivery of the industry's first TWINSCAN EXE:5200 system – an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) high-volume production system with a high numerical aperture and more than 200 wafers per hour productivity – as part of the two companies' long-term High-NA collaboration framework. Intel announced at its Accelerated event in July that it plans to deploy the first High-NA technology to enable its roadmap of transistor innovations.

Intel was the first to purchase the earlier TWINSCAN EXE:5000 system in 2018, and with the new purchase announced, the collaboration continues the path for Intel's production manufacturing with High-NA EUV beginning in 2025. The EXE platform is an evolutionary step in EUV technology and includes a novel optics design and significantly faster reticle and wafer stages. The TWINSCAN EXE:5000 and EXE:5200 systems offer a 0.55 numerical aperture — a precision increase from previous EUV machines with a 0.33 numerical aperture lens — to enable higher-resolution patterning for even smaller transistor features.

The numerical aperture of the system, combined with the wavelength used, determines the smallest printable feature.