By Toby Sterling

LEUVEN, Belgium, March 18 (Reuters) - Belgian chip research lab imec said on Wednesday it has secured an ASML $400-million High NA EUV lithography machine--one of fewer than a dozen worldwide--cementing its role in preparing next-generation chipmaking tools for industry use.

ASML ASML.AS customers, including Intel INTC.O and SK Hynix 000660.KS, are preparing to use High NA tools--which promise much smaller chip circuitry--to make new AI logic and high bandwidth memory chips as early as 2027.

imec, which helped ASML develop EUV technology, is buying the tool under its business model of giving companies and researchers shared access to cutting-edge chipmaking tools in a factory-like setting.

Due to its many bilateral deals with chip equipment makers including ASML, Applied Materials AMAT.O, LAM LRCX.O, KLA KLAC.O and Tokyo Electron 8035.T, imec has become the place where chip firms test, develop and ensure their next-generation tools work together.

CENTERPIECE OF IMECI'S NANOIC PILOT LINE

The High NA tool will be the centerpiece of imec's 2.5- billion-euro NanoIC pilot line, which includes 1.4 billion euros of public funding, including from the EU Chips Act.

Obtaining the ASML machine for the line "reinforces Europe's position at the heart of the global semiconductor value chain," Imec CEO Luc Van den hove said at a press conference. "It is the core of Europe's strategic autonomy and technological sovereignty."

ASML is the sole maker of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tools, which "print" circuitry onto chips.

High NA refers to the new machine's larger numerical aperture--similar to a camera--which enables creation of chip features that are up to 66% smaller, making them faster and more energy efficient.

ASML told Reuters in February that High NA tools are ready for use in commercial production after years of testing.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

((amsterdam.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com))