ASML announced that Intel Foundry is using its High-NA EUV lithography tools in high-volume production on select layers of its Core Ultra Series 3 “Panther Lake” processors, making Intel the first company anywhere to ship a commercial logic product built with the technology.
The disclosure came alongside ASML’s Q2 2026 earnings release, where the Dutch lithography giant also raised its full-year guidance. The product in question is a subset of Intel’s Core Ultra Series 3 laptop chips, built on the Intel 18A process node at Intel’s Oregon facility. These layers are “dual-qualified,” meaning the same layer can be exposed on either an existing 0.33 NA NXE scanner or the newer 0.55 NA EXE scanner, with the resulting wafers being interchangeable. That approach lets Intel gather real-world manufacturing data without committing the entire product to a single toolset.
High-NA EUV is ASML’s next-generation lithography platform, designed to enable more precise patterning as chipmakers push further down the density curve. The EXE:5200B tool Intel is using carries a price tag of roughly $400 million per unit, about twice that of a standard EUV machine, and delivers throughput of approximately 175 wafers per hour with overlay accuracy of 0.7 nanometers. ASML’s EVP Naga Chandrasekaran confirmed at Intel’s side that “qualifying the High NA process option on select Intel 18A product layers enables the company’s existing tool fleet to deliver higher manufacturing output while providing flexibility for future process technologies.”
Intel launched Core Ultra Series 3 at CES in January 2026 and has been shipping systems since January 27. The news that some of those chips already contain High-NA EUV-patterned layers is surprising. Intel has taken a beating around its manufacturing competitiveness over the past several years, and this announcement is concrete evidence that 18A is real, in volume, and producing results that match yields from the older platform. The milestone also paves the way for broader High-NA adoption across Intel’s next-generation process nodes, including Intel 14A.
The long-term implication for PC builders is less about Panther Lake specifically and more about what comes after. TSMC’s competing CoWoS and advanced node roadmap is well-publicized, and Intel’s EMIB packaging has been gaining traction among third-party chip designers looking for alternatives. EMIB is attracting attention from designers working around TSMC CoWoS constraints, which gives Intel’s foundry business a second potential on-ramp beyond the High-NA headline. It remains to be seen whether Intel can convert this lithography lead into process-node leadership.
Intel’s momentum on 18A will be worth watching as Panther Lake successor platforms take shape. Let us know in the comments whether this changes your view of Intel’s foundry trajectory.
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