The lithography machine of ASML, the world leader in semiconductor lithography equipment, is the most expensive single piece of equipment on the planet, but they recently launched a new product that you may be able to afford. Not a new generation exposure machine, but a model of the TWINSCAN EXE:5000 lithography machine built with LEGO bricks. This building block set, priced at US$227.95 (approximately NT$7,400), turns the US$380 million (approximately NT$12.35 billion) High-NA EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography machine into a collectible that can be placed on the desk.
TWINSCAN EXE:5000 ASML’s most advanced EUV lithography machine
TWINSCAN EXE:5000 is ASML’s most advanced EUV lithography machine. It is equipped with a 0.55 numerical aperture (NA) optical design and a resolution of 8 nanometers. Compared with the 13 nanometer resolution of the previous generation Low-NA EUV system, it is also the only equipment on the planet that can handle advanced processes below 2 nanometers.
This giant machine can process more than 185 wafers per hour and costs $350 million to $400 million to build. Intel has taken the lead in introducing this system for the development and production of its Intel 18A (1.8nm level) process. ASML’s customers include semiconductor giants such as Intel, TSMC, and Samsung, playing an irreplaceable role in the global advanced chip manufacturing chain.
A High NA EUV system is larger than a double-decker bus, but it prints the tiniest chip patterns.
The system itself weighs 150,000 kg, and still it needs more than 50 auxiliary cabinets coupled to it by about 140 mechanical and 1000 electrical connections. Talk about big tech! pic.twitter.com/geFKe5aOUD
— ASML (@ASMLcompany) September 4, 2024
Precision replica of 851 building blocks
The designer of this Lego model is Rick Lenssen, a data analyst at ASML. Lenssen was not initially an expert in building block design. He accidentally fell into this pit after taking his children to a local Lego exhibition in the Netherlands. Starting from searching for missing parts of old Lego sets on the BrickLink website, Lenssen gradually learned to use software to design Lego sets, and eventually became the “Lego Master” within ASML.
The TWINSCAN EXE:5000 LEGO model uses a total of 851 bricks, and the assembled size is 352×99×64 mm (approximately 13.86×3.9×2.52 inches). The model accurately reproduces the appearance features of the real exposure machine, including the purple lightning element that represents extreme ultraviolet light, and the LEGO figure wearing a dust-free protective suit. The details are quite good.
This is not the first time Lenssen has done this. He has previously designed LEGO models of the ASML Skyline and TWINSCAN NXE:3400C. The latter is still on sale at the ASML employee store for US$166.70 (about NT$5,400).
From Headquarters to Exposure Machine: A Data Analyst’s Lego Journey
Lenssen’s most talked-about work is actually a Lego model of ASML’s Dutch headquarters building. It took him two and a half years, 2,500 euros of his own money, and about 25,000 bricks to accurately replicate ASML’s campus in Veldhoven, down to the falcons and doves on the roof.
After the headquarters model was completed, it took Lenssen nearly a year to find a suitable display location on the company’s campus. His idea received strong support from then-CEO Peter Wennink. Today, the first thing that every visitor to the reception center of ASML headquarters sees is Lenssen’s creation. Because of this achievement, Lenssen was also nicknamed “Brick Lenssen” by his colleagues.
Non-ASML employees cannot buy
The EXE:5000 LEGO model was originally available only to ASML employees, with a verified company email address required to place an order and a limit of one set per person. ASML clearly states this restriction at the bottom of the product page, and it also applies to the less expensive NXE:3400C model.
However, once word spread, orders from non-employees poured in. ASML then canceled all orders from non-company mailboxes in late December 2024, sparking more discussion. Cornell University engineering professor Brian Kirby said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that he first saw this Lego model when attending the ASML technical conference. “As soon as I found out that such a thing existed, I felt that I had to buy it.” He regretted not buying two sets at once.
On second-hand trading platforms such as eBay, the price of this LEGO model has soared to US$600 (approximately NT$19,500), and the complete ASML LEGO set, including ASML Skyline and NXE:3400C, has even been offered for US$4,500 (approximately NT$146,250). This price can already buy many real large-scale LEGO flagship sets.
After the hit: Piracy and collecting craze
The popularity of this LEGO model has clearly exceeded ASML’s expectations. It not only became the center of conversation in the semiconductor industry, but also unexpectedly gave ASML, a normally low-key equipment manufacturer, a lot of mass media attention. The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and other international media have conducted in-depth reports on this, calling it “the most coveted $200 product in the world.”
What is exaggerated is that unauthorized ASML High-NA EUV LEGO counterfeit products have now appeared on the Chinese market, selling for about 208 euros (approximately NT$7,000), which is almost the same price as the genuine ones. If you have the chance, do you also want to buy a set of genuine lithography machine LEGO bricks?
Source: KOCPC Chinese