Core Viewpoint - SK Hynix plans to double its EUV lithography equipment by purchasing approximately 20 additional ASML machines over the next two years, indicating a significant investment in advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology [1][3]. Group 1: Investment and Equipment - SK Hynix currently owns about 20 EUV machines and aims to acquire an additional 20, which will increase its total to around 40 machines [1]. - The price of each EUV machine ranges from 300 billion to 500 billion Korean Won, leading to an estimated investment of at least 6 trillion Korean Won for this acquisition [3]. - The new equipment will be installed at the Cheongju M15X factory and the Icheon M16 factory, with M15X expected to start production by the end of this year [3]. Group 2: Production and Technology - The EUV lithography process has been commercialized in SK Hynix's memory segment since the introduction of 1a nm DRAM in 2021, and its application is steadily increasing with the evolution of memory generations [3]. - The demand for high-performance storage, particularly HBM, driven by AI development, necessitates more EUV equipment to expand the production scale of advanced DRAM [3]. - SK Hynix has also introduced its first mass-production High-NA EUV lithography machine, the ASML TWINSCAN EXE:5200B, in the memory industry [3].
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