Photomasks and Reticles

Captive shops · Tekscend · Photronics · DNP · NuFlare and IMS writers

Chipmakers make 63% of photomasks themselves, including nearly all leading EUV masks. The merchant 37% is led by Tekscend, with 38.9% of it, and Photronics, whose Boise, Idaho, plant makes masks to 7nm and is the most advanced merchant mask plant in the US.

Chipmakers make 63% of photomasks by value in their own captive mask shops; merchant mask makers sell the other 37%. Tekscend Photomask, spun out of Toppan, had 38.9% of the merchant market in 2024, about 14% of the whole market; Photronics, DNP and others share the rest. Finest node each merchant or Chinese mask plant makes in volume: Photronics Boise, 7nm, with 4nm in development; Photronics Korea, 8nm planned; Photronics Allen, Texas, 65nm upgrade; Qingyi Photomask, 55nm phase-shift masks in qualification; Longtu Photomask, 130nm, with 65nm planned. The leading EUV masks are made captive. PHOTOMASK MARKET BY WHO MAKES THE MASK Captive shops, 63% TSMC, SAMSUNG, INTEL, SMIC AND OTHERS TEKSCEND, 38.9% OF MERCHANT PHOTRONICS, DNP, OTHERS SEMI DATA AS CITED BY TEKSCEND, CALENDAR 2024 FINEST NODE IN VOLUME AT MERCHANT AND CHINESE PLANTS Photronics Boise, ID 7NM; 4NM IN WORK Photronics Korea 8NM, PLANNED Photronics Allen, TX 65NM UPGRADE Qingyi, China 55NM PSM, QUALIFYING Longtu, China 130NM; 65NM PLANNED 5NM 10NM 28NM 65NM 130NM FINER NODES TO THE LEFT. LEADING EUV MASKS ARE MADE IN CAPTIVE SHOPS. PHOTRONICS AUGUST 2026 CALL; THE BIGGO AND YICAI REPORTS ON CHINESE MAKERS.
Photomask market
$5.561B (SEMI)
Captive share
63%
Tekscend, merchant
38.9% (2024)
Photronics, FY2025
$849.3M
Masks per 3nm chip
About 85 to 100
Hub
Materials

Market

Chipmakers Make Most of Their Own Masks

A photomask, also called a reticle, carries one layer's pattern. A leading-edge logic chip needs 70 to more than 100 of them, and each mask is used for thousands of exposures. SEMI puts the photomask market at $5.561 billion, as cited by Tekscend, and 63% of that is made by chipmakers in their own captive mask shops. TSMC, Samsung and Intel make their own leading-edge and EUV masks, because the mask is part of the process recipe and a new node's masks are confidential until the node ramps.

Merchant mask makers sell the remaining 37%, mostly to foundry customers, memory makers and fabs at mature nodes. Their share has been falling for a decade, from 69% in 2013 to 35% in 2017 (SEMI), as captive shops took over the leading edge, and has since held in the high 30s.

Merchant makers

Tekscend, Photronics and DNP Sell the Rest

Merchant photomask makers
CompanyHomePosition
Tekscend PhotomaskJapanLargest merchant maker, 38.9% of the merchant market in 2024 (SEMI, as cited by Tekscend); spun out of Toppan and listed in Tokyo in October 2025; eight plants; revenue 117.97 billion yen in fiscal 2024
PhotronicsUS (Brookfield, Connecticut)Revenue $849.3 million in fiscal 2025, about three-quarters semiconductor masks; 44% of its semiconductor masks were high-end (28nm to 7nm) in its third quarter of fiscal 2026; the US is 17 to 19% of revenue
DNP (Dai Nippon Printing)JapanAdvanced IC masks; supplying evaluation masks for High-NA EUV beyond 2nm
SK-Electronics, HOYA, othersJapanDisplay masks and specialty IC masks
Longtu, Qingyi and other Chinese makersChinaMature-node IC masks and display masks; see China below

Photronics, Tekscend (as Toppan) and DNP together hold more than 80% of the merchant market (Shanxi Securities, December 2024). Photronics is the only US-headquartered merchant mask maker, with plants in Boise, Idaho, and Allen, Texas.

Making a mask

A Mask Is Written With Electron Beams, Then Inspected and Repaired

A mask is written, not printed. The design data is corrected for optical effects, written into resist on a mask blank with electron beams, developed and etched, inspected, repaired and checked again before a pellicle goes on. The blank itself, and EUV pellicles, are covered on EUV Mask Blanks and Pellicles.

How a photomask is made, with the main tool makers at each step. Data preparation and optical proximity correction, with Synopsys and Siemens software. Writing the pattern with electron beams, on NuFlare variable-shaped-beam writers or IMS multi-beam writers. Develop and etch the absorber. Inspect for defects with KLA, and with Lasertec for EUV masks. Repair defects with a Zeiss electron-beam repair tool, and check the repair with Zeiss aerial-image review. Mount the pellicle, then ship in a sealed pod. A leading-edge mask set takes weeks. STEP 1 Data, OPC SYNOPSYS, SIEMENS STEP 2 E-beam write NUFLARE, IMS STEP 3 Develop, etch ABSORBER STEP 4 Inspect KLA, LASERTEC STEP 5 Repair ZEISS MERIT, AIMS STEP 6 Pellicle, ship SEALED POD AFTER A REPAIR, THE MASK IS INSPECTED AGAIN BINARY OR PHASE-SHIFT (DUV) QUARTZ; LIGHT PASSES THROUGH THE GAPS EUV (REFLECTIVE) MIRROR STACK REFLECTS; ABSORBER BLOCKS. NOT TO SCALE.
Mask-making tools
StepMain suppliersNote
WriteNuFlare Technology (Toshiba group); IMS NanofabricationIMS multi-beam writers, majority owned by Intel with Bain Capital and TSMC as minority owners since 2023, write the curvilinear patterns used on EUV masks
InspectKLA; LasertecLasertec is the only maker of actinic inspection tools, which use EUV light
Repair and reviewZeissMeRiT electron-beam repair and AIMS aerial-image review, which shows how a defect would print
Data prepSynopsys, Siemens EDAOptical proximity correction reshapes features so they print as designed

Mask types

EUV Masks Reflect Light; Older Masks Pass It

Mask types
TypeLithographyWhere used
Binary, chrome on quartzi-line, KrF, ArFMature nodes, analog, power, MEMS and packaging layers
Attenuated phase-shiftArF and ArF immersionSharper edges from 65nm to the non-EUV layers of the newest nodes
Multi-patterning setsArF immersionTwo to four masks per layer before EUV; still used on some layers
EUV, reflectiveEUV, 0.33 NACritical layers at 7nm-class and below
High-NA EUVEUV, 0.55 NAHalf-field exposures, so a large die needs two exposures and stitching; Intel 14A and later

Mask sets

A Leading-Edge Mask Set Costs Millions Before the First Wafer

Mask set size and cost by node (industry estimates)
NodeMasksSet costPatterning
65nmAbout 20 to 25$0.2M to $0.5MSingle exposure
28nmAbout 30 to 35$0.8M to $1.5MSome double patterning
16/14nmAbout 40 to 50$1.5M to $3MMulti-patterning
7nmAbout 60 to 70$3M to $6M; up to $15M reportedFirst EUV layers
5nmAbout 70 to 80$6M to $12MHeavier EUV
3nmAbout 85 to 100$10M to $20M or moreMostly EUV on critical layers

These ranges are carried from industry estimates and are not from one primary source. They show why a chip startup at 3nm pays for its masks before it sees silicon, and why shared multi-project wafer shuttles exist.

China

China's Mask Makers Work at 130nm and Above, Moving to 65nm

China's mask market was about $1.78 billion in 2023, and nearly half of it was supplied by independent mask makers rather than captive shops (Shanxi Securities, citing SEMI). Below 130nm China still depends mostly on imported masks, and its mask makers depend on imported writers, inspection tools and blanks.

  • Longtu Photomask of Shenzhen makes masks at 130nm and above, with a Zhuhai plant aimed at 130 to 65nm and planning started for 28nm.
  • Qingyi Photomask of Shenzhen, strong in display masks, delivered 55nm phase-shift masks to a customer for qualification (BigGo Finance).
  • SMIC and other Chinese foundries run captive shops for their own advanced masks.

Sites

Three Merchant Mask Plants Operate in the US

  • Made in US
  • Made abroad
  • Not disclosed
Photomask production sites
SiteLocationMakesStatusUS status
PhotronicsBoise, IdahoAdvanced IC masks to 7nm; 4nm in developmentOperatingMade in US
PhotronicsAllen, TexasIC masks; upgrading from 130nm to 65nmUpgrading, 2026Made in US
Tekscend PhotomaskRound Rock, TexasIC masksOperatingMade in US
Intel captive mask shopUSMasks for Intel fabs, including EUV and High-NA EUVOperatingNot disclosed
Tekscend PhotomaskAsaka and Shiga, Japan; Icheon, Korea; Taoyuan, Taiwan; Shanghai; Dresden; Corbeil, FranceIC masks; EUV mask lines in JapanOperatingMade abroad
Tekscend PhotomaskSingaporeNew mask plant; equipment from 2026Mass production 2027Made abroad
PhotronicsKorea; Taiwan and China joint venturesIC and display masks; Korea upgrading to 8nmOperatingMade abroad
DNPJapanIC masks, including EUV and High-NA EUV evaluation masksOperatingMade abroad
Longtu PhotomaskShenzhen and Zhuhai, ChinaMasks at 130nm and above; 65nm plannedOperating, expandingMade abroad
Qingyi PhotomaskShenzhen, ChinaDisplay and IC masks; 55nm phase-shift masks in qualificationOperatingMade abroad
Placeholder: other captive and merchant mask shops

Record

Page Record

Covers
The photomask market and captive share, merchant mask makers, how masks are made and the tools used, mask types, mask set cost by node, China's mask makers, and production sites
Sources
Tekscend Photomask fiscal 2025 first-half results briefing (November 12, 2025; SEMI market shares); Mark LaPedus on Tekscend (photomask market size); Photronics fiscal 2025 results (December 10, 2025) and third-quarter fiscal 2026 call coverage (August 2026); SEMI via Evertiq (captive share history, 2018); Shanxi Securities via Yicai (China mask market, December 2024); BigGo Finance (Qingyi 55nm masks); mask set costs are industry estimates. Folded in: Semiconductor Photomask Deliverables
Last verified
October 2026