over 30 years of ingenuity and perseverance
when they moved into Span2span0span
in the 80s of the 20th century 0span In the shed, the founder never thought that in just thirty years, ASML will become a global innovation leader.
1980s: humble beginnings
In 1984, the electronics giant ASMI, an international chip manufacturer, established Philips _span2, an international chip manufacturer , To develop lithography systems for the growing semiconductor market.
We are called ASM lithography and started our day in an unlucky way, located in a leaky shed next to the Philips office in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
Based on research and development since the early 1970s, we launched the first system PAS 2000 stepper in the same year.
We are developing rapidly,Philips and ASMI expanded their investment scale to help ASML succeed.
In 1985, with the addition of 100 employees, we moved into a new office and factory in Veldhoven, just a few kilometers from the Philips research laboratory.
In 1986, we introduced the PAS 2500 stepper to the market, using new alignment technology, which will become the basis for many future innovations in our machines.
In the same year, we established an existing partnership with the lens manufacturer Carl Zeiss .
By 1988, after Philips established a joint venture foundry in Taiwan, we started to produce roads in the Asian market.
In the United States, we have grown from a few employees to 84 people, distributed in five office locations.
However, in a highly competitive market with many suppliers, this small, unknown company from the Netherlands cannot be obedient.
ASML has very few customers and cannot be independent.
What’s worse,The shareholder ASMI was unable to maintain a high level of investment with little return and decided to withdraw. However, the global electronics industry has turned for the better, and Philips announced a large-scale cost reduction plan.
The life of our young cash-sucking lithography company is up in the air.
Under the guidance of a strong belief in the ongoing research and development and the urgent need for funding, ASML executives contacted Philips board member Henk Bodt, who persuaded his colleagues to extend a final helping hand.
1990s century
5 of our 1span 5 breakthroughs in this decade.
Today, these classic lithography systems are still used in customer fabs.
1990s: from helping hands to IPO
This investment has been well utilized.
During this year, we launched a breakthrough platform PAS 5500.
With its industry-leading productivity and resolution,PAS 5500 brings ASML the key customers needed for profitability.
This is the first step towards maturity.
In 1995, ASML became a completely independent public company, listed on the Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges.
Philips sold half of its shares at the IPO and sold the remaining shares in the following years.
IPO brought capital to further promote our growth. We expanded our R&D and production facilities at De Run in Veldhoven, which later became our new headquarters.
In the 2000s,
immersed in 1span 1span technology in the 2000s. Through the revolutionary dual-resolution technology of span 1span, we have greatly improved TWINSCAN technology improves productivity.
2000s: TWINSCAN and immersive technology paved the way
In 2001, we launched the TWINSCAN system and its revolutionary two-stage technology.
These systems expose one wafer while simultaneously measuring and aligning the next wafer, thereby maximizing the productivity and accuracy of the system, thereby increasing the value of customer ownership.
TWINSCAN AT: 1150i made its debut as the first immersion machine in 2003, followed by TWINSCAN XT: 1250i
span _span2 spanspan _span2 _span2 in 2006: 1400 A machine XT: 1700i for immersion mass production.
In 2007, we launched the TWINSCAN XT: 1900i immersion system with a numerical aperture of 1.35, the highest in the industry.
With this new technology, we enable customers to project light through a layer of water between the lens and the wafer to produce smaller chip features.
Later in 2007, we acquired BRION, a leading semiconductor design and manufacturing optimization solution provider.
This is the beginning of our "total lithography" strategy.
We combine the knowledge of lithography systems with the skills to optimize the chip manufacturing process before, during and after lithography.
Another key product in the early stages of our overall lithography strategy is YieldStar, our metrology system that provides real-time measurement and correction during chip manufacturing.
The first YieldStar (250D) was delivered to customers in 2008.
In the 2010 era of UV, we have changed the appearance of the semiconductor industry again.
2010s: the whole era
In 2010, we shipped the first prototype extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tool (NXE: 3100) to the research organization of an Asian chip manufacturer ), marking the beginning of a new era of lithography.
EUV lithography uses shorter wavelength light to create smaller chip features, resulting in faster and more powerful chips.
In 2013, we acquired Cymer, a San Diego-based lithography light source manufacturer, to accelerate the development of EUV.
In the same year, we shipped the second-generation EUV system (NXE: 3300), followed by the third-generation EUV system (NXE: 3350) in 2015.
EUV lithography technology ushered in a turning point in 2016, when customers began to order our first production-ready system NXE: 3400.
During this period, we continued to improve the performance of immersion lithography systems. The main force horses in the chip industry, NXT1970Ci and NXT1980Di, were installed in customer factories around the world.
In 2016, we expanded our overall lithography product portfolio by acquiring Hermes Microvision (HMI), a leading supplier of electron beam measurement tools.
Our joint efforts led to the first shipment of the electron beam pattern fidelity measurement system (ePfm5) in 2017.
After liquidating the high-tech company Mapper in Delft, the Netherlands in 2018, ASML agreed to acquire the company’s intellectual property assets.
We also provide suitable positions for Mapper's highly skilled employees working in the field of R&D and product assembly.
2020: unprecedented challenges, impressive innovations
At the beginning of 2020, EUV entered mass production and we celebrated the 100th EUV system shipment.
But 2020 is also very important, and there is another reason: COVID-19 pandemic.
Our teams around the world support customers from a distance through innovative and new ways, applying their expertise to pandemic response and supporting our local communities, proving their adaptability and improvisation capabilities.
The development of our next-generation EUV platform has a higher numerical aperture of 0.55 ("High NA") has also been increased.
This platform called EXE has a novel optical design and a significantly faster stage.
We will deliver the first batch of EXE systems to customers in 2023.
November 2020,After completing the acquisition of the Berliner Glas Group, we officially welcome the Berliner Glas team to the ASML family.
The technical glass division of the group was spun off to the Glastrosch Group in April 2021.
