High-NA EUV is shaping up as a tool the leading foundries are happy to wait for, and Samsung’s latest roadmap fits that pattern. The company has revised its process plan to put 1.4nm production in 2029, with high-NA lithography reserved for the 1nm-class nodes expected in 2030 and beyond, according to Tom’s Hardware.
The new timeline marks a clear break from the roadmap Samsung presented in 2024. The shift gives the foundry more room to mature its 2nm GAA processes while it chases Nvidia and other AI chip customers, and follows a stretch in which some clients drifted toward TSMC.
On lithography, Samsung is following the same cautious calculus as TSMC: hold off on high-NA EUV until feature sizes genuinely require it. Intel, by contrast, has moved high-NA machines into early production, betting that being first pays off.
Industry watchers see the economics as the driver. High-NA systems carry steep costs and yield risk, so Samsung reportedly plans to adopt them only when current EUV tools run out of resolution.
With 1nm-class output now aimed at the early 2030s, the foundry’s cadence aligns with a sector-wide wait-and-see stance on the next lithography generation.
