Samsung Faces EUV Mask Blank Shortage as Hoya Rejects Supply Increase

What happened

According to industry sources on Nov. 10, Samsung Electronics is facing potential supply shortages of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask blanks next year. Samsung's semiconductor procurement division, after internal simulations of next year's manufacturing processes indicated a sharp increase in EUV mask blank consumption, requested additional supplies from Japan's Hoya in September, but Hoya told Samsung that it would be difficult to fully accommodate the request, citing rapidly growing demand from other semiconductor manufacturers. Samsung Electronics is expected to consume approximately 5,500 EUV mask blanks this year, with internal simulations projecting annual growth of around 25% over the next three years. EUV mask blanks are the base materials used to manufacture EUV photomasks, and a shortage could delay photomask production for new chip development and the replacement of masks used in mass production. Industry estimates put Hoya's share of the global EUV mask blank market at 70% to 75%, followed by AGC, formerly Asahi Glass, at 20% to 25%; Samsung previously used Hoya and AGC products at a ratio of 80% to 20%, but quality issues with AGC products and changes in specifications reportedly pushed Hoya's share of Samsung's procurement above 90%. Samsung uses four to five EUV masks in its 1b DRAM process and six to seven in its 1c process, expected to increase to approximately 10 in the 1d process scheduled for mass production in the second half of 2027; in foundry manufacturing, the 4nm process reportedly uses 15 to 16 EUV masks, compared with approximately 20 for 3nm and 25 to 27 for 2nm. The transition to phase-shift masks (PSMs) is another factor affecting supply availability, with manufacturing PSM mask blanks taking an estimated 1.5 to two times longer than conventional products; Samsung's 1c DRAM process uses one PSM among its EUV masks, while most EUV masks in the 1d process are reportedly expected to transition to PSM technology. Hoya announced plans in April to invest approximately 42 billion yen in a new EUV mask blank factory in Singapore, but mass production is scheduled for fiscal 2028, meaning the facility will not contribute to next year's supply; in its recent fiscal 2026 second-quarter earnings announcement, Hoya reported that EUV mask blank revenue increased more than 25% year over year and indicated that a single new factory might not be sufficient to meet additional demand. Samsung Electronics is seeking to diversify its supply sources by introducing EUV mask blanks from South Korea's S&S Tech, whose products are currently undergoing final qualification for mass production; key thin-film characteristics reportedly meet Samsung's requirements, although further improvements are needed in certain areas including particle contamination, and if the products pass qualification, domestically manufactured EUV mask blanks will be used in Samsung Electronics' semiconductor processes for the first time.

Impact and signal

Affected components and suppliers

Source and time

Source: The Elec · 11/12/2026 · View original source