ASML, Nikon compete for 22-nm lithography biz at Intel

SAN JOSE: ASML Holding NV and Nikon Corporation are competing for the 22-nm lithography business at Intel Corporation, according to one analyst.

C J Muse, an analyst with Barclays Capital, said in a report that ASML Holding NV and Nikon Corporation will share the 22-nm business at Intel – with ASML taking some critical layers.

According to one source, Intel Corporation’s evaluation for lithography at 22-nm is far from over.

For many years, Nikon and ASML have competed with each other at Intel Corporation. However, Nikon and ASML recently shared the business for ‘critical layers’ at 45-nm. At 32-nm, and Nikon won the entire ‘critical layer’ business at Intel.

C J Muse said that, at 22-nm within Intel Corporation, ASML and Nikon will split the business. Checks conducted by Barclays Capital reveal that ASML has been designed into at least 2 layers, which likely corresponds to share split of something like 40/60 for ASML/Nikon, Muse added.

He said that Intel Corporation will get the “latest and the greatest” 193-nm immersion scanners from Nikon and ASML.

Nikon is shipping a somewhat new version of its 193-nm immersion tool, which is meant for 32-nm chip production and below.