Intel's new video shows ASML's bleeding-edge $380 million High-NA machine getting installed

Intel has just shown off what is easily the best unboxing video ever, with ASML's new bleeding-edge Twinscan EXE:500 High-NA EUV lithography machine reaching its Oregon fab, a machine worth $380 million, and one of the most advanced machines on the planet. Check it out:

ASML's new Twinscan EXE:500 High-NA EUV lithography machine was transported from The Netherlands to Portland, Oregon, USA in a cargo plane. A truck then picked it up and delivered the $380 million machine, which will require 250 ASML and Intel engineers -- and around 6 months -- to install the machine completely. The system required 250 crates to transport the machine, weighing around 330,000 pounds. It's huge, and it's heavy.

Once the Twinscan EXE:500 High-NA EUV lithography machine is fully assembled, the job isn't over for ASML and Intel engineers, as they'll need to calibrate the machine which could take a couple of months. Once this is done, Intel can achieve its "First Light" milestone, something ASML just reached with its High-NA EUV machine in Veldhofen, the Netherlands, just recently.

• Read more: Intel and ASML achieve 'First Light' milestone with new High-NA lithography tech
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Intel was the first customer for ASML's latest EUV machine, with its new Twinscan EXE:500 High-NA EUV lithography machine the company can print at an 8nm resolution, enabling building transistors that are around 1.7x smaller than today, which results in nearly 3x the transistor density.

Tom's Hardware notes that achieving 8nm critical dimensions is crucial for producing chips using sub-3nm process technologies, which the industry aims for in 2025-2026. Intel will use the new Twinscan EXE:5000 machine to learn how to use high-NA EUV technology, with tests on its Intel 18A process technology planned, and then adopt the technology for high-volume manufacturing of its next-gen Intel 14A process node.

• Read more: Intel unveils its new Intel 14A process node, ready for the future of AI chips
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• Read more: TSMC preparing for 1nm production, new cutting-edge facility in Taiwan
• Read more: Intel: 2026 when it wants to beat TSMC at making the world's fastest chips
• Read more: Intel targets 1 trillion transistors on a single package by 2030
• Read more: Intel CEO: we want 1 trillion transistors in a single package by 2030