Samsung says it doesn’t plan currently to use High NA-EUV lithography technology for 2nm and 1.4nm processes. Instead, the technology will become useful during 1nm class and below production processes around 2030.
Samsung foundry has revised its advanced process roadmap recently, delaying its SF1.4 (1.4nm class) process from 2027 to 2029, while placing more emphasis on its 2nm class (SF2) family.
The strategy was presented last week at the 2026 Next-Generation Lithography+Patterning conference (NGL 2026).
TSMC has announced production of its 1.6nm class (A1.6) process for H2 2026. Samsung has struggled to match TSMC’s foundry utilization and process yields at some advanced nodes.
Rather than moving quickly through successive node names, Samsung now plans to spend the next several years refining SF2, SF2P, SF2X, SF2A, and SF2Z, including variants with backside power delivery.
The company also made it clear that it will not be using High NA-EUV (high numerical aperture Extreme Ultraviolet) Lithography technology for the 1.4 nm process. Instead, the technology will become useful during 1nm class and below production processes around 2030.
“We wanted to apply High-NA EUV to mass production at nodes such as 2nm and 1.4nm, but the technology still requires further improvements,” said Chang Min Park, Master VP of Technology at Samsung Electronics, at NGL 2026.
This slower adaptation of technology is intended to improve yields and commercial viability as leading-edge manufacturing becomes increasingly expensive.
Working on his Terafab project, Elon Musk came to a conclusion that high-NA “delivered half the chip, for twice as much” indicating that the gain is too small.
High-NA tools cost twice as much as low-NA tools, delivering modest gains and have smaller exposure to field, which can mean larger chips require die stitching, which can in turn impact performance.
The hardware impact is indirect but significant. AMD and Nvidia rely heavily on TSMC fabs, while Intel is trying to establish 18A (1.8nm) and 14A (1.4nm) as competitive alternatives. Samsung delaying the process will impact long-term wafer prices and number of options available to AMD, Nvidia, Qualcomm and other chip designers.
