New chipmaking tool boosts U.S. semiconductor research capacity

A Tokyo Electron chipmaking tool arrived at NY CREATES’ Albany NanoTech Complex in Albany on July 21, giving New York the first major piece of equipment for its forthcoming High NA EUV Lithography Center. State officials called the installation a milestone for a site they want to position at the center of U.S. semiconductor research and development.

The machine, known as CLEAN TRACK LITHIUS Pro DICE, is part of a buildout aimed at the most advanced nodes in chipmaking, where precision tools are scarce, costly and central to progress. NY CREATES says Albany NanoTech is the most advanced publicly owned, accessible 300mm semiconductor R&D center in North America, and the new lithography center is intended to support development of the world’s most complex chips, including advanced AI GPUs and the large language models they power.

The arrival matters because Albany is being asked to do more than host laboratory equipment. It is meant to serve universities, companies and public-private partnerships that need a place to test processes, train engineers and push pilot-scale production before committing to full fabrication. New York officials said the installation marks a step toward making the Capital Region a deeper semiconductor hub, with the ability to attract more talent, more research partners and more investment tied to the next generation of chip manufacturing.

The project sits inside a much larger state-backed bet. New York announced a $10 billion partnership in December 2023 with industry players including IBM, Micron, Applied Materials and Tokyo Electron to establish a next-generation semiconductor research and development center at Albany NanoTech. The state also secured a $500 million capital investment in the FY 2025 budget to help jumpstart the effort. Officials later designated Albany NanoTech in October 2024 as the nation’s first National Semiconductor Technology Center facility, and NY CREATES says the CHIPS for America EUV Accelerator at the site is one of three NSTC flagship semiconductor R&D facilities in the country.

The scale of the equipment underscores the industrial-policy stakes. Reuters-linked coverage placed one ASML next-generation chipmaking tool at Albany NanoTech at roughly $400 million, a reminder that domestic semiconductor capacity depends not just on subsidies, but on access to rare, highly specialized machinery. If Albany’s new center can translate lab capability into broader manufacturing know-how, it could narrow bottlenecks in training, research and supply-chain resilience that have left the United States dependent on overseas fabrication for years.