Mega order SK Hynix for ASML

[Dutch_Master]

Summary

 Korean chip manufacturer SK Hynix has ordered new chip making machines worth 3.6 bn euro from ASML.

 

Quotes

Quote

No use quoting in Dutch as this is an English language forum, use google translate or similar for the linked article instead.

Quick English summary then: in the next 5 years, Dutch manufacturer of chip making machines ASML delivers an undisclosed amount of EUV chip making machines to SK Hynix of S. Korea. Individually, an EUV machine has a price tag of 120m euro. EUV machines use extreme ultraviolet light to make very small traces on chips. ASML was expecting the order and plans to deliver the first machines later this year. SK Hynix announced the order today to comply with Korean Laws, apparently.

 

My thoughts

Given the prices for these machines, as well as their lead times from ASML (it's all build to order) it's no wonder chip fabs are scarce and setting one up id bl00dy expensive. I suspect these EUV machines will be used for <5nm processes.

 

Sources

 In Dutch:

https://nos.nl/artikel/2370072-asml-sleept-zuid-koreaanse-miljardenorder-binnen.html

 

ASML website, also in English, no press release yet

https://www.asml.com

SK Hynix, also no press release:

https://www.skhynix.com

[leadeater]

5 minutes ago, Dutch_Master said:

I suspect these EUV machines will be used for <5nm processes.

EUV is used on 7nm currently as well, Samsung and TSMC. If this is for Sk Hynix M16 planned fab for 2021 then it's 10nm EUV and will be used for DRAM products. DRAM is pretty much stuck at 10nm at this point, so now new processes are using 1a nm naming (it's still 10nm).

 

https://news.skhynix.com/sk-hynix-announces-the-completion-of-m16-plant-construction/

https://www.micron.com/about/blog/2021/january/inside-1a-the-worlds-most-advanced-dram-process-technology

[Drama Lama]

It’s just incredible how complicated and expensive these machines are

[AnonymousGuy]

1 hour ago, Drama Lama said:

It’s just incredible how complicated and expensive these machines are

You hear about something like the Bujh Khalifa and think "oh wow that's an engineering marvel must have been expensive".  Nah...that's poor people shit compared to the cost of a fab.  You're spending 4x as much just to build the structure and then even more multiples to put tooling in it.  There will be "billion dollar rows" of tools where it's like 10 machines.
 

Heard a guy who was negotiating the purchase of one of them.  Hilarious to think that it's one guy spending Bezos level of money.  "ya'll take amex?"

[Drama Lama]

1 minute ago, AnonymousGuy said:

You hear about something like the Bujh Khalifa and think "oh wow that's an engineering marvel must have been expensive".  Nah...that's poor people shit compared to the cost of a fab.  You're spending 4x as much just to build the structure and then even more multiples to put tooling in it.  There will be "billion dollar rows" of tools where it's like 10 machines.

i know one of these machines costs like 300+ million €