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ASML makes lithography systems that semiconductor manufacturers use to pattern silicon wafers. Its extreme ultraviolet (EUV) machines help print some of the intricate layers used in leading-edge chips—but a lithography system is only one part of a much larger manufacturing process, and EUV does not replace every other lithography technology.

What ASML makes—and what it does not

ASML supplies industrial lithography systems to chipmakers. A system projects a pattern onto a wafer coated with light-sensitive material; the patterned wafer then moves through additional manufacturing steps. The machine is not a finished chip, and lithography alone does not make one.

ASML’s 2025 annual report says, “ASML is currently the world’s only manufacturer of EUV lithography systems.” That is ASML’s statement about its position, not an independently verified market survey. The company also sells deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems and metrology and inspection equipment. ASML 2025 annual report

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How EUV lithography works

ASML’s EUV systems use light with a wavelength of 13.5 nanometers, near the X-ray range. The light is generated by a laser-produced tin plasma, then directed through an optical system to transfer a chip pattern onto a wafer. ASML EUV product page

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From tin droplets to light

Fast-moving droplets of tin pass through the machine. A powerful carbon-dioxide laser strikes the droplets, turning them into plasma that emits EUV light. ASML says its latest commercial EUV sources operate at 60,000 tin droplets per second. ASML 2025 annual-report strategy page

Mirrors and a vacuum path

EUV light is absorbed by air and nearly all materials, so it cannot travel through an ordinary lens-based optical path. ASML uses multilayer mirrors to guide the light inside a high-vacuum system. The mirrors direct it to a reticle—a patterned mask—and the optical column reduces and projects that pattern onto the wafer. These are ASML’s descriptions of its system design. ASML EUV product page

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Why EUV matters—and why chipmakers still use DUV

As chipmakers create more intricate structures, they need to pattern increasingly demanding layers. EUV can print some critical layers with fewer exposures than a DUV approach that uses multiple patterning steps. In some cases, a layer that would otherwise require several exposures can be made with one EUV exposure. The right approach depends on the layer and the manufacturing plan; EUV does not replace DUV across an entire fab. ASML 2025 annual report

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The trade-off is not simply one exposure versus several. ASML says EUV systems use more power than DUV systems, while EUV may reduce total process steps. The overall environmental effect depends on the full process flow, not just the lithography machine or exposure count. ASML 2025 annual-report strategy page

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High NA EUV: the next platform generation

ASML describes its TWINSCAN EXE platform as High NA EUV. Its product page gives the platform a numerical aperture of 0.55 and a stated resolution of 8 nanometers. ASML says the platform is intended to support high-volume manufacturing in 2025–2026. That is the company’s stated purpose and timeframe; it does not establish broad customer deployment. ASML EUV product page

Numerical aperture describes an optical system’s ability to collect and focus light. ASML presents High NA as a platform for finer patterning capability, but the stated resolution alone does not establish a chip’s final feature size, yield, cost, or customer adoption.

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What ASML reported in 2025

ASML’s annual figures describe its own business, not the entire semiconductor equipment market. The company reported the following for 2025: ASML 2025 annual report

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ASML-reported measure 2025 figure What it describes
EUV lithography systems sold 48 Systems sold by ASML
Total systems sold 535 ASML systems across EUV, DUV, and metrology and inspection
Total net sales €32.7 billion ASML company net sales

For its full-specification NXE:3800E, ASML states throughput of 220 wafers per hour, a 37% improvement over the NXE:3600D. The figure is ASML’s product-performance claim, not an independent comparison across operating fabs. The company’s 2025 strategic report also says approximately 95% of ASML systems sold in the past 30 years were still in use, within the report’s stated frame. ASML 2025 strategic report

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The 1,000-watt EUV source demonstration

ASML says it demonstrated a 1,000-watt EUV light source in April 2025. The demonstration used 100,000 tin droplets per second, compared with 60,000 droplets per second for the company’s latest commercial EUV sources. ASML described the demonstration as validation of an approach that could scale to higher power, while noting that commercial readiness would take time. It is a development milestone, not evidence that a 1,000-watt source is commercially deployed. ASML 2025 annual-report strategy page

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