ASML is the world’s largest producer of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines.
ASML, headquartered in Veldhoven, Netherlands, develops lithography systems used to print extremely small patterns on semiconductor wafers. Its extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, machines use 13.5-nanometer-wavelength light and support production of some of the most advanced chips.
The company was founded in 1984 as a joint venture between Philips and ASM International. It grew from a smaller lithography supplier into a critical equipment maker for advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Its customers include major chip foundries and integrated-device manufacturers.
ASML does not manufacture the finished processors found in phones or servers. It makes the highly specialized equipment that helps companies such as TSMC produce them. That distinction explains why ASML can be central to the semiconductor industry while remaining largely unknown to general consumers.