[News] imec Achieves Single-Patterning High-NA EUV Milestones, Appoints New CEO to Sharpen AI Focus

According to its press release, imec announced a leadership transition, appointing Patrick Vandenameele as its next CEO effective April 2026, while sharpening its focus on the rising demands of AI chipmaking. At the same time, the institute reported breakthroughs in single-patterning High-NA EUV lithography, underscoring the strength of its High-NA EUV ecosystem in advancing patterning technology to A10 and beyond logic nodes.

One of the key achievements is the demonstration of 20nm-pitch line structures with a 13nm tip-to-tip (T2T) critical dimension (CD). For these 13nm T2T structures, imec measured a local CD uniformity (LCDU) as low as 3nm, marking an industry milestone. Imec has also shown the compatibility of ruthenium (Ru) direct metal etch (DME) with single-exposure High-NA EUV lithography, as it fabricated Ru lines at 20nm and 18nm pitch. Notably, the 20nm-pitch metallized lines achieved a 100% electrical test yield.

Commenting on the progress, Steven Scheer, Senior Vice President of Compute System Scaling at imec, emphasized that achieving these logic designs with single-print High-NA EUV lithography reduces processing steps compared with multi-patterning. This in turn lowers costs, improves yield, and reduces environmental impact. As noted in its press release, the results also underscore the importance of the imec-ASML partnership in accelerating the High-NA EUV transition to high-volume manufacturing and enabling the sub-2nm logic roadmap.

imec Appoints New CEO to Guide AI-Focused Strategy

Alongside its latest technical achievements, imec has announced a leadership change, appointing Patrick Vandenameele as its next Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026. As highlighted by Reuters, imec—one of the world’s leading semiconductor R&D institutes—has adjusted its strategy to address the evolving demands of AI chipmaking, citing Vandenameele. He began his career at imec in the 1990s, later co-founding four startups and holding senior roles at Qorvo and Huawei.

Reuters also noted that the Belgium-based lab is building a sub-2nm chip pilot line with €2.5 billion ($2.9 billion) in EU Chips Act funding, aimed at giving European tech firms access to manufacturing technology that would otherwise be economically unattainable.

Read more

• [News] Researchers Propose “Beyond EUV” Using Soft X-Rays, Potentially Challenging High-NA EUV
• [News] SK hynix Reportedly Doubling EUV Fleet by 2027, Potentially Set to Rank Third Globally

(Photo credit: imec)