ASML is the leading manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines for advanced chips.
ASML, headquartered in Veldhoven in the Netherlands, makes highly complex lithography systems that project patterns onto semiconductor wafers. Its extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, machines use 13.5-nanometer light to print exceptionally small features for leading-edge integrated circuits.
The company was established in 1984 as a joint venture between Philips and ASM International. It began as Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography and later became an independent publicly traded company. ASML does not manufacture finished consumer chips; it supplies equipment used by chipmakers such as TSMC, Samsung, and Intel.
A common mix-up is treating ASML as a chip designer or foundry. Its role is semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and its specialized EUV systems are associated with one of the industry's most difficult technological bottlenecks.