Why does Intel use High-NA EUV for 14A when TSMC does not, according to Chris Auth?

Chris Auth, who leads Intel's process development, says the two companies reach different conclusions about the same machine because of chip architecture. Intel's backside power moves power wiring beneath the transistors, which relaxes the wiring pitch on the front so it can be printed in one High-NA pass. Without backside power, TSMC needs tighter pitches that still require double patterning, so High-NA gives it little benefit.

• High-NA widens the numerical aperture from 0.33 to 0.55, printing features about 1.7 times smaller in one pass, Dwarkesh Patel explains.
• Standard EUV machines cost around $200 million and High-NA machines about twice as much.
• Auth says High-NA is an option in the 14A design kit, decided customer by customer.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Dwarkesh Podcast (2026-10-22). Read the whole episode summary →

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