ASML

What does it take to make a 'good' microchip? Building a microchip is more than just printing tiny components. It’s also making sure those components are properly connected by aligning layer after layer of circuitry, in chip after chip, on wafer after wafer, with nanoscale precision. And to help us optimize that alignment, we turn to a key quantity: overlay.

ASML’s all about lithography systems – or is it? Here are the 4 fundamental elements of our holistic lithography approach to delivering unmatched chip patterning performance: 🏭 Lithography systems are our bread and butter. With their advanced hardware and innovative software, they use light to project tiny microchip patterns onto silicon wafers. But they don’t do it alone. 💡 Optical metrology ensures tight overlay control. Chips are made up of dozens of layers, and these systems make sure those layers are precisely aligned so the chips work as intended. ⚡ E-beam inspection finds individual nanoscale defects in a sea of printed chip patterns. As chip features shrink, these systems are increasingly critical for ensuring chip performance. 🖥️ Computational lithography optimizes the chip patterning process. Models and algorithms use our detailed understanding of a lithography system’s inner workings to make sure chip patterns appear exactly as intended on the wafer. All of these elements have to work together for chipmakers to deliver today’s advanced microchips. Did any of them surprise you?

How did GPUs go from revolutionizing gaming to driving the AI boom? 🎮 🤖 From rendering stunning graphics in your favorite PC games to powering the complex computations behind training AI models, Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) have transformed how we play, create and innovate. What's the first game or AI project that made you appreciate the power of GPUs? 💭

Printing the perfect chip pattern starts with crafting the perfect illumination. In a lithography system, light from the source illuminates a mask containing the blueprint of a chip layer. By adjusting the light that hits each area of the mask, chipmakers can ensure that critical features are printed as accurately as possible – a must for printing the tiniest features on advanced microchips. Our source-optimization tools use thousands of tiny programmable mirrors to give chipmakers virtually unlimited freedom to tune the light from their sources. Part of our computational lithography portfolio, the tools use models and algorithms to quickly craft the perfect illumination for each chip pattern. They make sure our lithography systems produce the sharpest features every time so we can keep powering technology forward with you.

How do you build the world’s tiniest skyscraper? 🏗️ http://ms.spr.ly/6047UVW4b In the finale episode of ASML Nanoland Season 1, ASMLers Sabil and Joep walk you through how microchips are made, from a silicon wafer to the chips powering your favorite devices. Watch now!

🚨 BREAKING: we just reported our Q4 and full-year 2024 financial results! 👇 📈 ASML achieved another record year, ending with total net sales for 2024 of €28.3 billion, and a gross margin of 51.3%. 🔎 Our fourth-quarter was a record in terms of revenue, with total net sales coming in at €9.3 billion, and a gross margin of 51.7%, both above our guidance. This was primarily driven by additional upgrades. We also recognized revenue on two High NA EUV systems. We shipped a third High NA EUV system to a customer in the fourth quarter. 📊 ASML expects 2025 total net sales to be between €30 billion and €35 billion, with a gross margin between 51% and 53%. 🔎 Consistent with our view from the last quarter, the growth in artificial intelligence is the key driver for growth in our industry. It has created a shift in the market dynamics that is not benefiting all of our customers equally, which creates both opportunities and risks as reflected in our 2025 revenue range. http://ms.spr.ly/6041Up38L

Big ideas need more than just inspiration – they demand determination, commitment, focus and the right support to see them through. Decades ago, we had help getting started in the semiconductor industry. Now, we're paying it forward. 💪 Here's how we're empowering tech startups and scaleups to grow and succeed. 🚀

Today's vehicles don't just get you from A to B - they're actually advanced computers on wheels, and there's an entire world of microchips making it all happen. From powering central computing cores with high processing capacity to handling intensive real-time actions, semiconductors are shaping the future of mobility and redefining what cars can do. 🚘

Do you know what makes your devices think and remember? 💡 http://ms.spr.ly/6042U8zvi In this episode of ASML Nanoland, ASMLer Sabil explores the two major chip families – Logic and Memory – that power everything from smart homes to gaming consoles. Discover how these chips keep your tech running at its best.

🤓 Time to geek out! Here are 3 mind-blowing analogies about High NA EUV – the next generation of EUV lithography: 📖 With an 8-nanometer imaging resolution, the High NA EUV system is so precise it could print the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy 7,000 times on the side of an A4 sheet of paper. 🏎️ The system’s reticle stage accelerates at 32 g, the equivalent of an F1 race car going from 0 to 100 km/h in just 0.09 seconds. 🌍 The special mirrors inside a High NA EUV system are so meticulously engineered that, if you scaled it to the size of the Earth, their largest imperfection would be no larger than the thickness of a playing card. Big shoutout to ZEISS Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology for making this next-level precision possible! What real-world analogy would you use to describe High NA EUV? 💡