Samsung Targets High-NA EUV for DRAM Volume Manufacturing by 2028, Making Process Validation the Next Constraint

Samsung Electronics and ASML said on September 8 that they are expanding their collaboration. Samsung says it plans to introduce high-numerical-aperture EUV, or High-NA EUV, into future high-volume DRAM manufacturing by 2028 [1]. This is neither new DRAM capacity nor proof that production has begun. It moves one important question for advanced DRAM expansion from access to a tool toward validation of masks, process integration, and yield.

The joint announcement also says Samsung will join an initiative for a 12-inch photomask platform for High-NA EUV. Reuters' same-day reporting likewise described Samsung's target as introducing the technology into DRAM volume manufacturing by 2028 [2]. The cooperation and target year are therefore established. The announcement does not specify a DRAM node, monthly capacity, yield, or customer qualification. A plan should not be presented as an immediate increase in supply.

Owning a High-NA tool is not the same as shipping memory. SK hynix said in 2025 that it had assembled an EXE:5200B for production at its M16 fab in Icheon, and said the higher numerical aperture could improve pattern precision and density [3]. That company statement shows how equipment introduction can prepare next-generation DRAM development; it does not establish Samsung's eventual product yield in 2028. Taken together, the contest is shifting from who gets a tool first to who can connect tool, mask, and memory process reliably.

John Wood's analysis is that the agreement changes the credibility of a medium-term manufacturing path before it changes 2026 spot or contract DRAM supply. If High-NA reduces process complexity in advanced patterning layers, it may improve density and cost competitiveness. That is an inference from the companies' technology roadmaps, not a forecast for price, share, or revenue. Delays in 12-inch masks, process integration, or yield qualification remain the countercase.

Watch for Samsung's first target DRAM node, pilot-production and customer-qualification milestones, and public ASML information on tool delivery and ecosystem readiness. Only those signals, together with actual wafer output, can turn the 2028 commitment from an equipment partnership into observable DRAM supply capability.