Researchers at the Dutch tech giant ASML have discovered a way to significantly increase the speed of their chip-making machines. The company says this new breakthrough will allow them to churn out 50% more computer chips by the end of the decade. This move aims to keep ASML ahead of new competitors rising in the United States and China.
ASML is currently the only company in the world that sells the “extreme ultraviolet” (EUV) machines needed to make the most advanced processor chips. These massive tools are essential for companies like Intel and TSMC. By upgrading the light source within the machine, ASML researchers increased the power output from 600 watts to 1,000 watts. Lead technologist Michael Purvis confirmed that this is a fully functional system, not just a temporary lab experiment.
The competition in this sector is heating up. Because these machines are so vital, the U.S. government has blocked ASML from shipping them to China. This forced China to try building its own. Meanwhile, American startups like xLight have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to challenge ASML’s dominance. ASML hopes this new power boost will make their technology too efficient for rivals to catch.
The main benefit of more power is speed. Chip manufacturing works a bit like photography, using light to print patterns on silicon wafers. A brighter light source means the machine needs less time to expose each wafer. Currently, a machine processes about 220 wafers an hour. The new system targets 330 wafers an hour, which drastically lowers the cost of making each chip.
To achieve this, engineers had to upgrade an already mind-boggling process. The machine shoots a stream of molten tin droplets and blasts them with a laser to create plasma hotter than the sun. The new method involves shooting 100,000 tin drops every second and hitting them with two laser bursts instead of one.
Experts in the field are impressed. Jorge J. Rocca, a professor at Colorado State University, called the achievement “pretty amazing.” ASML executives say they aren’t stopping at 1,000 watts and see a clear path to doubling that power in the future.
