Intel Fab 34 ushered in the first EUV lithography machine

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In January of this year, a photoresist developing equipment flew across the Atlantic and arrived at the factory, completing the installation of the first equipment in Intel’s Fab 34 wafer fab, which will run with EUV scanners in the future. Last week, Intel’s Fab 34 in Ireland completed the installation of its first EUV lithography machine, the first fab in Europe to have a EUV process.

It is understood that the EUV lithography machine was manufactured by ASML and was first shipped to Intel’s base in Ohio, USA, and then shipped to Europe. It is not clear why Intel did not choose to ship directly to Ireland, perhaps to test the EUV lithography machine to ensure compliance before shipping to the new factory. In the video released by Intel, about 100 ASML engineers came to the Fab 34 fab to assist in the installation, and Intel sent engineers from the United States to train the employees of the Fab 34 fab on how to use the EUV lithography machine.

Intel has not announced the model of this EUV lithography machine, but with Intel’s financial resources and future plans, I believe it will be one of the latest models. Intel has ordered several EUV lithography machines from ASML, its first, which Intel calls “a key enabler of Intel 4 process technology.” ASML’s EUV lithography machine requires four transporters to transport, and then 35 trucks to transport it to the Fab 34 fab. Intel has been shipping the EUV lithography machine in batches since December last year, and it took several months to complete the shipment.

The Intel Fab 34 fab started construction in 2019 and is scheduled to be officially put into production in 2023. Intel has said that the Irish fab is part of its global fab expansion plan to meet rapidly growing global chip demand and also pave the way for Intel’s Intel 4 process to mass production which will be used to produce chips such as Meteor Lake and Granite Rapids in the future.

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