As an indispensable core equipment in the chip manufacturing process, lithography technology has been constantly changing and progressing for decades, and lithography machine giants have also changed several times, first American companies, then Japanese companies, and later Dutch companies.
Today, ASML is a giant in the global lithography machine industry, not only accounting for about 90% of the global share, but also exclusively producing high-end EUV lithography machines. But what ASML didn't expect was that the "reversal" of the lithography machine came so quickly!
Because semiconductor technology originated in the United States, it produced the earliest monopoly hegemon in the lithography machine industry. Before 1980, the American companies GCA, Ultratech and P&E monopolized the global lithography machine market, known as the "Three Giants of Lithography".
After 1980, with the first major shift in the global semiconductor industry, Japan's Nikon and Canon seized the development opportunity and replaced the three American lithography machine manufacturers, after which Nikon and Canon became the hegemon of the global lithography machine market.
Three American lithography machine manufacturers have been acquired or forced to transform, and since then there has been no lithography machine industry in the United States.
Since the late 80s of the last century, Nikon's share of the global lithography machine market has really exceeded 50%, and Canon has also occupied a certain share by virtue of the advantage of aligners, so Nikon and Canon have become Japan's "lithography machine duo".
It was at this time that in 1984, the future lithography machine giant ASML was founded. In the years after its establishment, ASML also struggled to move forward, and only launched relatively advanced lithography machines in the 90s, and gradually gained some share in the market.
In the first decade of the 21st century, ASML surpassed Nikon and Canon with its immersion lithography machine technology.
Between 2001 and 2010, ASML first introduced a dual-stage system, which greatly improved lithography productivity and accuracy, followed by the introduction of Lin Benjian's immersion lithography technology, and has since led the global lithography machine market.
Nikon's insistence on developing dry lithography machine technology led to a failed competition, and later turned to the development of immersion lithography machine technology.
After 2010, as chip manufacturing technology continued to advance towards miniaturization, ASML launched more advanced EUV lithography machines. ASML exclusively produces EUV technology, so it exclusively produces EUV, and has since established its supremacy as a lithography machine.
It may be because Japanese semiconductors surpassed the United States and Nikon surpassed American lithography machine manufacturers, so the EUV technology organization led by Intel later refused to allow Nikon and other Japanese companies to join, and as a result, ASML exclusively enjoyed EUV technology.
Therefore, after ASML launched a new generation of EUV lithography machines, Intel even gave priority to purchasing 6 units than TSMC.
The new generation of High-NA EUV is used in the 2nm-1nm process, but the technology has basically come to an end. Although ASML said that it will explore Hyper-NA EUV to advance the technology to 07nm, but the cost is already too high to achieve.
However, there is no end to the development and progress of science and technology, and if EUV technology fails, new technologies will naturally appear. Recently, some scientists have proposed a new scheme, that is, BEUV technology, which can bring shorter wavelengths than the current EUV.
According to scientists, after 2035, EUV lithography machines may be replaced by BEUV lithography machines.
In addition, Japan's Canon has launched NIL nanoimprint technology without EUV lithography machines, and the 5nm chip manufacturing equipment based on this technology has been sold to the market, and the 2nm manufacturing equipment will be launched in 2026.
It is worth mentioning that the lithography manufacturing based on nanoimprint technology not only costs only 10% of the traditional EUV lithography machine, but also consumes 10% of the power of the EUV, which will greatly reduce the production cost of chip manufacturers.
It can be seen that not only now but also in the future, ASML's EUV lithography machine is no longer necessary. More critically, ASML's high-end lithography machines are also restricted by the United States and cannot be shipped to the mainland, the world's largest market.
In this case, the development of lithography machines in mainland China has progressed faster, and it is said that it is possible that more advanced lithography machines have been realized.
Because some foreign media recently said that the mainland market will mass produce 5nm process chips this year. There is also a return to Huawei's self-developed Kirin chip, which has been tested as a 7nm process produced in the mainland, and this should not be a lithography machine using ASML.
Not only is ASML's technology coming to an end, but the lithography machine market is also being compressed. In this regard, some foreign media said that ASML is about to see you again. How did ASML not expect that the "reversal" would come so quickly, and the EUV had only been launched for more than 10 years!
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