Lithography equipment giant ASML has "paused" the development of hardware meant to work with next-gen 450mm wafers, which offer 125% more wafer space (and thus better economies of scale) than current-gen 300mm wafers. Likewise, Applied Materials (
AMAT) CEO Gary Dickerson says the
450mm migration "has definitely been pushed out from a timing standpoint."
Due to ASML's move, Intel (
INTC), which agreed in 2012 to
pour $4.1B into the company to help finance investments in 450mm wafers and EUV lithography, has
"adjusted" the pace of its payments to ASML.
Last year, Intel
began constructing a $2B Oregon development fab meant to be its first 450mm facility.
But it's reevaluating its timetable amid soft PC demand and concerns about its share of the bill. Spokesman Chuck Mulloy: "We still believe 450 is the right thing to do ... But we have been clear: we will not do it ourselves."
EUV, considered necessary to maintain Moore's Law long-term, has also seen delays. ASML CEO Peter Wennink
recently predicted EUV will reach the
stability levels required by chip manufacturers
by the 2H16 or 2017.