Taipei, Sept. 8 -- Semiconductor equipment major ASML and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) have joined hands on an industry-wide initiative to drive the transition to 12-inch photomasks, with the companies targeting a pilot line by 2031 to support the next generation of advanced chip manufacturing.

The companies in an official statement, highlighted that the initiative is aimed at maximising the benefits of High Numerical Aperture (High NA) Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, a technology used to print increasingly small and complex features on semiconductor chips.

ASML and TSMC said the industry will initially continue using the current 6-inch masks for High NA EUV production. However, shifting to larger 12-inch mas...