An Intel spokesman said the move to EUV and 450-mm wafers will help reduce chip production costs by up to 40 percent.

Intel hasn't said when it will move to 450-mm wafers and EUV, but it has already invested billions to help it manufacture smaller, faster chips. In October 2010 it said it would invest $6 billion to $8 billion in its chip manufacturing operations, and the following February it said it would spend $5 billion to build a chip plant in Chandler, Arizona, which is expected to be completed by next year.

Intel and its rivals have been plotting a transition to 450-mm wafers for many years, and they've been pushing tool makers like ASML to provide the equipment. But the tool makers have had problems providing those tools, which was part of the reason chip makers have delayed the move to 450-mm.

Throwing a few more billion dollars at the problem should allow ASML to accelerate the development of EUV tools, said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64.

The current tools use ultraviolet light at a 93-nm wavelength to transfer circuit patterns onto silicon wafers using masks. "With each new technology generation, using that big wavelength to make teenier and teenier transistors gets harder and harder," Brookwood said.