The World’s Most Strategic Technology Company
The smartphones, computers, artificial intelligence systems, data centers, and even modern automobiles we use today operate thanks to advanced semiconductor chips made up of billions of transistors. While Apple, NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Qualcomm, and other technology companies design the world’s most powerful processors, the ability to manufacture these processors largely depends on technology developed by a single company: ASML.
Based in the Netherlands, ASML produces the world’s most advanced lithography machines and is the only company capable of developing EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) lithography systems at commercial scale. Today, a large portion of the chips used in 5 nm, 3 nm, and more advanced manufacturing technologies can be produced thanks to the machines developed by ASML. For this reason, ASML is regarded not merely as a machine manufacturer, but as the most critical technology provider of the global semiconductor industry.
So how did a company founded by a small team of only 31 people become one of the world’s most strategic technology companies?
The Road from the Transistor to ASML
To understand ASML’s importance, it is necessary to briefly look at the development of semiconductor technology.
The first working transistor, developed by researchers at Bell Labs on December 23, 1947, launched a new era in the world of electronics. Replacing vacuum tubes, transistors made it possible to develop electronic devices that were smaller, more reliable, and consumed less energy.
With the development of the integrated circuit in 1958, hundreds and later thousands of transistors began to be placed on a single silicon chip. The first commercial microprocessor developed by Intel in 1971 laid the foundations of the computer age.
As computer technology advanced, processors needed to operate faster, consume less energy, and become smaller in size. The only way to achieve this was to place much smaller transistors on a silicon wafer.
This need led to the rapid development of lithography technology used in semiconductor manufacturing.
In simple terms, lithography is the process of transferring a chip design onto a silicon wafer using light. As the circuit paths on a chip become smaller, processor performance increases while energy consumption decreases. Today, the ability to fit billions of transistors into an area of just a few square centimeters has been achieved largely through advances in lithography technology. Imagining the construction of all the skyscrapers of a city on the head of a pin brings us exactly to the point where ASML’s story begins.
The Founding of ASML
The foundations of ASML were laid on April 1, 1984, by two major Dutch technology companies: Philips and ASM International (ASMI).
In the 1970s, Philips had developed first-generation wafer stepper systems at its research laboratory, NatLab, for use in its own semiconductor manufacturing. However, the company did not have the commercial organization needed to bring this technology to the global market.
At the same time, Arthur del Prado, the founder of ASM International, which operated in the field of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, foresaw that the optical technology developed by Philips would turn into a major market in the future. Through del Prado’s initiative, the two companies decided to join forces.
The new company was named ASM Lithography. Later, the company name was shortened and began to be used as ASML.
As part of the partnership, Philips transferred its patents, engineering expertise, and research infrastructure to the company, while ASM International provided marketing experience, commercial vision, and initial capital support.
From a Leaking Wooden Shed to World Leadership
ASML’s early years were quite difficult.
The company began operating with only 31 employees in a modest wooden building next to Philips’ facilities in Eindhoven. The first lithography machines it developed did not achieve the expected commercial success. Despite this, the company did not stop its research and development efforts.
At the time, many people did not believe that ASML could succeed on a global scale. The lithography market was largely controlled by the Japanese companies Nikon and Canon. Nevertheless, ASML managed to improve the performance of each new machine through long-term investments in optical engineering, precision mechanical systems, and software technologies.
In 1988, ASM International withdrew from the partnership. Philips, however, continued to support the company and accelerated its growth process. In 1995, ASML went public on the Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges, attracting the attention of international investors.
The PAS 5500 lithography system developed during the same period became one of the most important milestones that brought ASML worldwide recognition. Thanks to its high precision, production speed, and reliability, this machine was preferred by many semiconductor manufacturers and significantly strengthened the company’s position in the global market.
However, the development that would truly make ASML a world leader had not yet occurred. Martin van den Brink, a young engineer who would become one of the most important figures carrying the company into the future, would begin to change ASML’s technology roadmap with the innovative ideas he developed during this period.
Martin van den Brink, PAS 5500, and ASML’s Rise to World Leadership
Martin van den Brink: ASML’s Technology Genius
The success of a technology company often cannot be explained solely by capital or production capacity. What sets some companies apart is the presence of engineers who can foresee the future years in advance. For ASML, this figure was undoubtedly Martin van den Brink.
Shortly after graduating from the Department of Applied Physics at the University of Twente in 1984, Van den Brink joined the newly established ASML and became one of the company’s first engineers. At that time, who would have believed that ASML, with a small team of only 31 people, would one day become one of the world’s most strategic technology companies?
Rising through the company over the years, Van den Brink was appointed Vice President of Technology in 1995 and President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in 2013.
Working for many years alongside CEO Peter Wennink, Van den Brink became one of the most important figures shaping the company’s technological vision. In the industry, he is known as “Mr. ASML” and the “Wizard of Veldhoven.”
PAS 5500: The Machine That Changed ASML’s Fate
The lithography systems developed by ASML in its early years had failed to achieve the expected commercial success. However, the company continued its research and development efforts without interruption. The PAS 5500 series lithography machines, developed as a result of these efforts, became one of the most important milestones in the company’s history.
From the mid-1990s onward, semiconductor manufacturers needed systems that offered higher precision, faster production, and lower error rates. The PAS 5500 series succeeded in meeting this need with its high accuracy and reliability.
The most important advantages of the machine were as follows:
- The ability to align silicon wafers with nanometer-level precision,
- Increased factory efficiency thanks to higher production speed,
- Reduced production costs through lower error rates,
- Software and optical systems with a continuously updatable structure.
Thanks to this success, ASML began to attract the attention of major semiconductor manufacturers not only in Europe, but also in Taiwan, South Korea, and the United States.
The PAS 5500 series established ASML as a reliable technology company in the global market and created an important financial foundation for the EUV lithography systems the company would later develop.
Competition with Nikon and Canon
In the 1990s, when lithography machines were mentioned, the first companies that came to mind were Japan-based Nikon and Canon. A large portion of the lithography systems used especially in the production of DRAM memories and microprocessors were manufactured by these two companies.
ASML, on the other hand, was a very small player in terms of market share. However, as transistors in the semiconductor industry continued to shrink, existing DUV (Deep Ultraviolet) lithography technology began to approach its physical limits. A completely new technology was needed to produce smaller circuits.
This technology would later be developed as EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) lithography.
Why Did ASML Pull Ahead?
EUV technology is regarded as one of the most difficult engineering projects the semiconductor industry has ever faced.
To develop this system;
- A new light source that seemed impossible to produce anywhere in the world,
- Optical mirrors with seemingly impossible precision,
- A vacuum environment close to that of outer space,
- Mechanical systems moving at the nanometer level,
- Advanced software algorithms,
all had to work flawlessly within the same machine.
This project required billions of dollars in investment. While Nikon and Canon preferred to maintain their strong positions in existing DUV technologies, they invested more limited resources in EUV development. ASML, however, took a major risk and continued to invest in this technology without interruption for nearly twenty years.
During this process, the company did not rely solely on its own engineering team. It developed the world’s most precise optical systems with Carl Zeiss in Germany, brought EUV light source technology under its control by acquiring the U.S.-based company Cymer, and created a shared technology ecosystem with thousands of suppliers around the world.
Today, Nikon and Canon still continue to produce DUV lithography systems. However, ASML is the only company capable of developing EUV lithography machines at commercial scale. For this reason, the world’s most advanced semiconductor manufacturers, TSMC, Samsung, and Intel, use ASML’s systems in their most advanced production technologies.
The real development that made ASML a true global technology leader was the successful commercialization of EUV lithography technology. This technology changed not only the future of the company, but also the future of the entire semiconductor industry.
The Invention That Makes ASML Unique in the World
“EUV Lithography Technology”
The most important development that made ASML one of the world’s most strategic technology companies was its commercial success with EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) lithography technology.
Today, EUV lithography technology is used in the production of advanced chips containing billions of transistors, such as Apple’s A-series processors, NVIDIA’s artificial intelligence accelerators, AMD’s Ryzen processors, and Intel’s next-generation processors.
So why is this technology so important?
What Are the Limits of DUV Technology?
For many years, DUV (Deep Ultraviolet) lithography systems were used in semiconductor manufacturing. DUV technology transferred circuits onto silicon wafers using light with a wavelength of 193 nanometers.
However, as transistors became smaller, engineers encountered a major problem. The wavelength of the light being used had become much larger than the circuits they wanted to produce. As a result, the same pattern had to be printed multiple times, which slowed the production process and increased costs.
In order for the progress predicted by Moore’s Law to continue, a new light technology with a much shorter wavelength had to be developed.
What Is EUV Technology?
EUV lithography is an advanced manufacturing technology that transfers chip designs onto silicon wafers using extreme ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 13.5 nanometers.
Because the wavelength is significantly shorter, much finer circuit paths can be created in a single exposure. This enables smaller transistors, higher processor performance, and lower energy consumption.
In other words, EUV technology is the fundamental manufacturing method that makes it possible for modern processors to fit billions of transistors into an area of just a few square centimeters.
How Does an EUV Lithography Machine Work?
Although at first glance it may look like a chip manufacturing machine, ASML’s EUV system is actually a giant optical laboratory operating with extreme precision.
The machine’s task is not to manufacture chips. Its task is to transfer a processor design onto a silicon wafer with nanometer precision using light. This process takes place in four main stages.
1. Producing EUV Light
EUV light does not exist in nature in a usable form. It also cannot be transmitted in a normal environment because it is easily absorbed by air. For this reason, ASML produces this light inside the machine itself. Inside the machine, approximately 50,000 microscopic tin droplets are generated per second. One of the world’s most powerful industrial carbon dioxide lasers fires at these droplets twice.
The first laser pulse flattens the droplet, while the second pulse turns it into a plasma reaching a temperature of approximately 200,000 °C.
And this plasma produces EUV light with a wavelength of 13.5 nanometers.
2. The World’s Most Precise Mirrors
Because EUV light cannot pass through ordinary glass, conventional lenses cannot be used. For this reason, ASML uses special reflective mirrors developed by Germany-based Carl Zeiss.
These mirrors are considered among the most precise optical surfaces ever produced by humanity. The irregularities on their surfaces are at the atomic level. If one of these mirrors were enlarged to the size of Germany, the largest defect on its surface would be only a few millimeters.
3. Transferring the Chip Design to the Mask
The focused light then reaches a special template called a reticle, or mask. This mask contains the circuit design of the processor to be produced. After EUV light reflects from the mask, it carries with it the patterns that form the processor’s billions of transistors.
4. Printing onto the Silicon Wafer
In the final stage, the light is projected onto a silicon wafer coated with a light-sensitive chemical called photoresist. This process is repeated for each layer, and eventually the structure of a modern processor made up of billions of transistors emerges.
High-NA EUV: Next-Generation Lithography
As semiconductor technology continues to advance, existing EUV systems have also begun to approach their physical limits.
For this reason, ASML developed next-generation lithography systems called High-NA EUV (High Numerical Aperture EUV).
Because the optical systems used in these machines can focus light at a wider angle, resolution increases significantly. This will make it possible to commercially implement 2-nanometer and smaller manufacturing technologies in the future.
A single High-NA EUV system costs approximately 400 million U.S. dollars. Weighing around 180 tons, these machines consist of hundreds of thousands of parts and take months to install.
Why Can’t Another Company Produce the Same Machine?
An EUV lithography machine is not merely a mechanical device. It requires laser technology, optical engineering, vacuum systems, precision robotics, electronic control systems, software, and materials science to operate flawlessly on the same platform.
ASML did not develop this system alone. The company works with thousands of specialized suppliers in different countries around the world.
While Carl Zeiss in Germany develops the optical systems, TRUMPF produces the high-power lasers. Cymer in the United States provides the EUV light source, while Edwards Vacuum develops the vacuum systems. Japanese companies also make important contributions in photomasks and critical chemicals.
Today, ASML’s advanced lithography machines consist of more than 700,000 parts and involve more than 5,000 suppliers in their production.
For this reason, it is not enough for a new company to develop a similar system with only a large budget. It must also possess engineering know-how accumulated over decades, a global supply chain, and a multidisciplinary technology ecosystem.
ASML’s Role in the Global Semiconductor Ecosystem
Thanks to the lithography machines it has developed, ASML has become the most critical technology provider in the semiconductor industry. However, the company does not produce its own processors. Instead, it supplies the lithography systems used in chip manufacturing to the world’s most advanced semiconductor manufacturers.
Today, 5-nanometer, 3-nanometer, and more advanced manufacturing processes are largely based on the EUV lithography technology developed by ASML. For this reason, ASML’s success directly affects not only its own growth, but also the progress of the entire semiconductor sector.
Why Do TSMC, Samsung, and Intel Rely on ASML?
Today, the world’s most advanced semiconductor manufacturers, TSMC, Samsung Electronics, and Intel, use ASML’s lithography systems to advance their manufacturing technologies.
TSMC manufactures processors designed by many technology companies such as Apple, NVIDIA, AMD, Qualcomm, and Broadcom. Samsung Electronics produces both its own processors and chips for external customers, while Intel has long been one of the largest semiconductor companies designing and manufacturing its own processors.
Although these three companies compete intensely with one another, they share one common point: they need the EUV systems developed by ASML for the most advanced manufacturing processes.
For this reason, ASML is not a company that competes with chip manufacturers; it is the core technology provider that enables them to manufacture chips.
ASML’s Global Supply Chain
An EUV lithography machine is one of the most complex engineering systems ever produced by humanity.
ASML produces only certain parts of these machines in its own facilities. The rest of the machine consists of advanced technology components developed in different countries around the world.
Germany-based Carl Zeiss develops optical systems, while TRUMPF produces high-power laser technologies. U.S.-based Cymer provides the EUV light source, and Edwards Vacuum develops vacuum systems. Japanese companies make important contributions in photomasks and precision manufacturing chemicals.
In total, more than 5,000 suppliers contribute to the production of an EUV lithography system consisting of approximately 700,000 parts.
This global collaboration model is one of the most important reasons for ASML’s technology leadership.
The U.S.–China Chip War and ASML
In recent years, semiconductor technology has become a strategic field not only economically, but also geopolitically.
The restrictions imposed by the United States on the export of advanced technology to China have placed ASML at the center of global chip competition.
Under export controls implemented by the Dutch government, ASML has been banned from selling its most advanced EUV lithography systems to China. In recent years, additional export licenses have also become mandatory for certain advanced DUV systems.
These developments show that semiconductor technology is no longer merely a commercial sector, but also carries strategic importance for countries’ economic security, defense industries, and artificial intelligence investments.
Despite this, the rapidly growing global demand for artificial intelligence applications continues to support ASML’s long-term growth.
Conclusion
The first transistor developed in 1947 marked the beginning of a new era in the world of electronics. It was followed by integrated circuits, microprocessors, and nanometer-scale manufacturing technologies. At every stage of this technological progress, there was a need to produce smaller, more powerful, and more efficient chips.
This is exactly where ASML’s importance emerges.
The company is not merely a manufacturer of lithography machines. Through the technologies it has developed, it has become one of the fundamental building blocks that make the progress of the modern semiconductor industry possible.
Today, a large portion of the advanced semiconductors used in everything from smartphones to supercomputers, artificial intelligence systems to data centers, electric vehicles to medical devices can be produced thanks to the lithography technologies developed by ASML.
As the semiconductor industry continues to develop smaller transistors, more powerful artificial intelligence systems, and next-generation computing technologies, ASML’s strategic role in the global technology ecosystem will continue to remain important.
References
- ASML. Our History. https://www.asml.com/en/company/about-asml/history
- ASML. Making EUV: From Lab to Fab. https://www.asml.com/en/en/news/stories/2022/making-euv-lab-to-fab
- ASML. 5 Things You Should Know About High-NA EUV Lithography. https://www.asml.com/en/en/news/stories/2024/5-things-high-na-euv
- ZEISS Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology. High-NA EUV Lithography: New Technology for Global Microchip Production.
- ZEISS Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology. 30 Years of ZEISS EUV Lithography Optics.
- Gordon E. Moore. Cramming More Components onto Integrated Circuits. Electronics
- Chris Miller. Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology. Scribner, 2022.
- Walter Isaacson. The Innovators. Simon & Schuster, 2014.
