From Foundational Patents to High-NA Transition: The Innovation Timeline
High-NA EUV lithography — operating at 13.5nm wavelength with numerical aperture extending beyond the 0.33 of first-generation scanners — has accumulated a structured patent record spanning nearly two decades, from early LPP source filings in 2006–2007 through to the active High-NA transition cluster of 2023–2026. Understanding this timeline is essential for any R&D or IP team assessing freedom to operate, white space, or competitive positioning in sub-2nm semiconductor patterning. According to WIPO, EUV-related patent families have grown consistently as chipmakers have pushed beyond conventional optical lithography limits.
The innovation record divides into three distinct phases. The foundational period (2006–2013) established the physics and hardware vocabulary of the field. Cymer LLC filed fundamental LPP target-tracking and dose-stability patents in Japan as early as 2007. Nikon Corporation filed a multi-point EUV source device with variable-angle mirror combining in Germany in 2006. Carl Zeiss SMT AG deposited folded-geometry illumination systems in Germany in 2008, followed by EUV system qualification methods in 2010. Media Lario S.R.L. introduced grazing-incidence collector source-collector modules combining LPP with GIC mirrors in Germany and Japan in 2013.
The development and productisation phase (2014–2020) shifted innovation toward system-level integration. ASML Netherlands B.V. pursued EUV dose control via variable-width laser pulses and thermal lens compensation (KR, 2014–2019). TSMC filed EUV lithography process optimisation covering dose reserve and plasma stability in Germany in 2016, and focus measurement via resist roughness in the US in 2019. Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH advanced thin-absorber EUV masks in EP in 2020 and projection lens thermal management with zero-thermal-expansion mirror bodies (KR, 2018; EP, 2020). Samsung Electronics filed EUV overlay correction via laser mirror heating and projection optics control in South Korea in 2020.
The maturation and High-NA transition (2021–2026) represents the most active filing cluster in this dataset. Samsung Electronics alone accounts for over 10 filings in this period across KR, US, CN, and SG, focusing on computational illumination optimisation. TSMC’s 3D plasma diagnostic system (US and DE, 2023–2025) signals industrialisation of real-time LPP monitoring. Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH’s 2025 KR filings on four-mirror NI optical units and hybrid NI/GI six-mirror systems indicate active projection optics development for High-NA configurations.
The most active EUV patent filing cluster in the dataset of 70+ records spans 2023–2026, with Samsung Electronics accounting for over 10 filings in this period alone across South Korea, the United States, China, and Singapore jurisdictions.
Who Controls the IP: Assignee and Jurisdiction Breakdown
Samsung Electronics, Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH, and TSMC collectively account for the majority of the 70+ records in this dataset, but the geographic distribution of filings tells an equally important strategic story. South Korea is the single dominant jurisdiction with approximately 40 records, driven not only by Samsung’s domestic filings but by Korean national phase entries from Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH, TSMC, and ASML Netherlands B.V. — a pattern that reflects both the importance of the Korean semiconductor manufacturing base and the strategic value of securing IP protection in Samsung’s home market.
This landscape is derived from a targeted set of patent and literature records retrieved across focused searches covering 2007 to mid-2026. It represents a snapshot of innovation signals within this dataset only and should not be interpreted as a comprehensive view of the full industry patent universe.
The United States and Germany each account for approximately 10 records. The US filings come primarily from Samsung Electronics, TSMC, and ASML Netherlands B.V., while the German filings reflect Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH’s home jurisdiction activity alongside TSMC and Media Lario S.R.L. China accounts for approximately 8 records — a mix of Samsung, TSMC, and ASML national phase entries alongside emerging domestic filers from the Chinese state research sector. According to data tracked by the European Patent Office, semiconductor-related filings from Chinese state institutions have grown substantially since 2020.
“Samsung Electronics alone accounts for over 10 filings in the 2023–2025 period, covering linear programming, game-theory-based, and wavefront-corrected illumination configuration methods across KR, US, CN, and SG — building a computational lithography moat around EUV illumination design.”
Beyond the top three, the presence of multiple Korean SMEs and universities — Isol Inc., Korea Aerospace University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, and Hanyang University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation — signals an emerging domestic supply chain with potential for both licensing activity and acquisition targets. Paul Scherrer Institute (Switzerland) accounts for approximately 4 records (KR, JP, TW) focused on compact storage-ring EUV sources for metrology applications.
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Explore EUV Patents in PatSnap Eureka →Four Core Technology Domains Driving High-NA EUV
High-NA EUV innovation organises into four interdependent technical domains, each with distinct IP dynamics and competitive structures. Understanding the patent depth in each domain is critical for R&D teams assessing entry points, licensing risk, and design-around opportunities — a process that organisations like the IEEE have highlighted as central to semiconductor standards development.
1. Laser-Produced Plasma (LPP) Source Engineering
LPP source engineering is the most foundationally contested domain. The dominant approach involves CO₂ laser irradiation of tin droplets in vacuum, generating plasma that emits 13.5nm radiation. Advanced developments focus on dual-pulse architectures — a pre-pulse forms under-dense plasma, then a main pulse drives EUV emission — alongside beam combining with lateral spatial offset and ion beam injection to reduce plasma debris. Cymer LLC established the foundational LPP target-tracking and feedback system for dose stability in Japan as early as 2007. Trumpf Lasersystems for Semiconductor Manufacturing SE’s 2026 KR filing describes dual laser beam combining with lateral offset via shared optical elements, representing the current state of the art in commercial LPP architecture.
LPP EUV source IP spans from Cymer LLC’s foundational 2007 Japan filing on target-tracking and dose stability through to Trumpf Lasersystems for Semiconductor Manufacturing SE’s 2026 South Korea filing on dual laser beam combining with lateral spatial offset — representing nearly two decades of layered, contested patent coverage.
2. Computational Illumination System Optimisation
A substantial cluster of recent filings — predominantly from Samsung Electronics — addresses the configuration of illumination modes for EUV scanners. Methods include linear programming for pupil facet mirror assignment, Fourier-approximation top-hat source generation, game-theory-based point-source combination selection, and wavefront-corrected cost-function optimisation. Samsung’s 2023 US filing introduces linear programming for pupil facet mirror assignment with symmetry criterion selection. The 2025 US filing applies fitness-value-based aerial image optimisation for EUV point-source combination. A separate 2025 KR filing uses wavefront measurement of the EUV mask phase as direct input to illumination cost-function optimisation — a shift from heuristic to mathematically rigorous source-mask co-optimisation.
3. Projection Optics and Mirror Architecture
EUV projection optics use all-reflective mirror trains; High-NA systems require increased mirror counts with tighter surface requirements. Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH dominates this domain. Their 2025 KR filing describes a four-mirror all-NI optical unit with overall transmission greater than 10% and polarisation rotation less than 10° for linearly polarised EUV imaging light. A separate 2025 KR filing covers a six-mirror hybrid NI/GI system where the last two mirrors are NI with no imaging light passage opening, a geometry consistent with anamorphic High-NA scanner requirements. The 2020 EP filing specifies projection lenses with at least two zero-cross temperatures separated by more than 6K per mirror body, enabling passive thermal stabilisation. A 2023 KR filing addresses temperature-controlled fluid lines penetrating mirror bodies for active thermal management.
Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH holds approximately 10 records in this dataset with coordinated DE, EP, and KR filings spanning mirror architecture, thermal management, and NI/GI optical configurations — the most vertically integrated optical IP position in the dataset. Any new entrant to EUV optics must design around this portfolio or seek licensing.
4. Mask, Pellicle, and Metrology Infrastructure
EUV mask technology addresses ultra-thin absorber layers — trending toward 10–30nm — to reduce mask 3D effects at high NA. Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH’s 2020 EP filing specifies an absorber structure of less than 100nm, with a preferred thickness of 10nm or less, to minimise mask shadowing at high numerical aperture. KLA-Tencor Corporation’s pupil-filter-based phase contrast imaging patent (KR, 2021) addresses EUV reticle defect detection. Isol Inc.’s 2024 KR filing covers EUV multilayer reflection zone plate illuminators for measuring mask and pellicle reflectivity and transmittance at wavelengths of 5–15nm. Samsung Electronics’ 2026 KR filing describes overlay correction based on correlation between first and second overlay parameters, enabling closed-loop stage control for semiconductor device fabrication.
Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH’s 2020 European Patent filing specifies an EUV mask absorber structure of less than 100nm, with a preferred thickness of 10nm or less, to minimise mask 3D shadowing effects that become critical at High-NA numerical apertures above 0.33.
Emerging Directions: 6.7nm, Ion Beams, and Integrated Inspection
The most recent filings in the dataset — concentrated in 2024–2026 — reveal five directional signals that indicate where the next wave of EUV innovation is heading. These signals are particularly important for IP teams monitoring freedom-to-operate risks and for R&D leaders evaluating technology bets ahead of post-2nm node development, a challenge also addressed by roadmapping bodies such as the Semiconductor Industry Association.
Next-Generation EUV Wavelengths (~6.7nm)
The Aerospace Information Research Institute (Chinese Academy of Sciences) explicitly targets gadolinium plasma for 6.7nm emission in a compact LPP system filed in China in 2025. This compact TEA CO₂ plus picosecond pre-pulse LPP system using a gadolinium target signals early-stage R&D toward “beyond EUV” for post-2nm nodes — a wavelength that would require entirely new optical coatings and mirror materials compared to the molybdenum/silicon multilayer stacks used at 13.5nm.
Ion Beam-Assisted Plasma Enhancement
Korea Aerospace University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation’s 2025 KR filing describes injecting ions toward the LPP plasma to reduce plasma density and improve EUV conversion efficiency and debris mitigation. This is a novel plasma control mechanism not present in earlier-generation LPP patents, representing a potential design-around path relative to the established CO₂-LPP patent thicket.
Wavefront-Corrected and Game-Theory-Driven Illumination
Samsung’s 2025 filings in both KR and US introduce EUV mask phase measurement as direct input to illumination cost-function optimisation, and apply game-theory selection rules to maximise normalised image log-slope (NILS) under physical constraints. This represents a shift from heuristic to mathematically rigorous source-mask co-optimisation — with direct implications for scanner software licensing and process IP for competitors operating the same hardware.
Hybrid NI/GI Projection Optics for High-NA
Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH’s late-2025 KR filings describe six-mirror optical units combining at least two near-normal incidence (NI) and at least one grazing incidence (GI) mirror, with no beam passage openings in the last two mirrors — a geometry consistent with anamorphic High-NA scanner requirements. The NI/GI hybrid approach maintains overall transmission greater than 10%, a critical threshold for production-viable throughput.
Integrated Actinic Inspection Platforms
Both Hanyang University (KR, 2025) and the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (CN, 2026) are advancing multi-modal EUV inspection tools that combine pellicle characterisation, mask surface imaging, and subsurface defect detection in a single vacuum platform. The Shanghai Institute’s 2026 CN filing describes an integrated bright-field and dark-field EUV microscope enabling simultaneous surface and subsurface mask defect imaging — directly addressing the mask inspection bottleneck at High-NA, where shadowing effects from thicker absorbers become critical.
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Monitor EUV Innovation in PatSnap Eureka →Strategic Implications for IP and R&D Teams
Five strategic conclusions emerge directly from the patent record analysed in this dataset, each with actionable implications for IP counsel, R&D directors, and competitive intelligence teams working in semiconductor patterning or the EUV supply chain.
LPP Source IP Is Layered and Contested
LPP source IP — from Cymer/ASML to Trumpf to emerging Korean and Chinese entrants — is layered and contested. R&D teams targeting new LPP architectures, including multi-wavelength combining, ion beam injection, and gadolinium-target 6.7nm systems, may find white space, but must navigate a dense existing patent thicket around CO₂-LPP systems established over nearly two decades of filings.
Samsung’s Illumination Optimisation IP Warrants Close Monitoring
With over 10 filings in 2023–2025 covering linear programming, game-theory-based, and wavefront-corrected illumination configuration methods across multiple jurisdictions (KR, US, CN, SG), Samsung Electronics is building a computational lithography position around EUV illumination design that could affect scanner software licensing and process IP for competitors operating the same hardware platforms.
Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH Holds Structural Dominance in Projection Optics
Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH’s coordinated DE, EP, and KR filings on mirror architecture, thermal management, and NI/GI optical configurations represent the most vertically integrated optical IP position in this dataset. Any new entrant to EUV optics will need to design around this portfolio or seek licensing — a challenge compounded by the fact that High-NA configurations require even more mirrors with tighter tolerances than first-generation EUV systems.
The Korean EUV Ecosystem Is Diversifying
Beyond Samsung Electronics, at least four additional Korean assignees — Isol Inc., Korea Aerospace University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, Hanyang University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, and FST Co., Ltd. — are filing in EUV light sources, metrology, and beam optimisation. This signals an emerging domestic supply chain with potential for both licensing activity and acquisition targets, particularly in the EUV microscopy and inspection subsegment where Isol Inc. holds approximately 5 records.
China’s State-Sector EUV Filings Are Accelerating
Filings from the Aerospace Information Research Institute and the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics in 2025–2026 target both source physics — compact LPP, gadolinium target — and inspection infrastructure. These represent state-directed R&D investment in EUV self-sufficiency and should be tracked for IP freedom-to-operate implications in Chinese manufacturing contexts, particularly given the export control environment documented by bodies including the US Bureau of Industry and Security.
China’s state research sector — specifically the Aerospace Information Research Institute (Chinese Academy of Sciences) and the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics — filed EUV-related patents in 2025 and 2026 targeting compact LPP sources at 6.7nm and integrated bright-field/dark-field EUV microscopes for mask defect detection, signalling state-directed investment in EUV self-sufficiency.