I work at ASML, this is our company

Source: The content comes from He Xi, who is both red and expert, thank you.

After graduation, the most common question I was asked was "Where do you work?". The question only has five words, but it is really difficult to answer clearly. I wrote this article with the attitude that even if you ask it casually, I will give a good answer.

I work for a company called ASML. Like most tech companies, the name doesn't say anything.

What does ASML do?

Production & Sales: Photolithography Machine!

If there is something in the world that can make more money than a money printing machine, it must be this thing. Because it can print something called an integrated circuit. Integrated circuit? Well, commonly known as a chip, it is mainly responsible for data calculation and storage, and is the core component of electronic products.

When your boyfriend is deeply entangled in whether the new laptop should be equipped with an i5 or i7 processor, 4g or 8g memory, don't be surprised, because the chip is really important. Yes, yes, even more important than the color of the laptop.

Currently, there are two major companies in the world that produce lithography machines. In addition to ASML, the other one is Nikon. Yes, it is the company that produces SLR cameras. Nikon accounts for about 20% of the global lithography machine market share, while ASML accounts for more than 70%.

ASML has three major customers: Samsung, Intel and TSMC.

Wait, someone is missing! Since Samsung is an ASML customer, why not Apple? The answer is simple, because Apple is lazy. They don't make hardware themselves, but ask others to help them. For example, the A8 chip in iPhone 6 and 6 plus is manufactured by TSMC, while the chip for the next generation iPhone will be manufactured by Samsung.

What is the significance of ASML’s existence?

Moore's Law!

Making money is of course very important, but as a company with feelings, ASML's existence has a more important meaning: to strive for the continuous progress of human technology! (Where is the applause?)

Moore's law was proposed by Gordon Moore, one of the founders of Intel, in 1965: the number of transistors that can be accommodated on an integrated circuit will double approximately every 12 (later changed to 18-24) months. In other words, the performance of electronic products will double every year and a half, or the price will drop by half.

When Moore's Law was first proposed, it was just a simple rule of thumb for evaluating the progress of semiconductor technology. However, in the following decades, it was used as an important criterion and goal within the industry, driving the continuous reduction of costs, improvement of performance, and reduction of energy consumption of electronic products.

ASML plays a vital role in realizing Moore's Law, because the compactness of the lithography machine directly determines the minimum size of chip manufacturing. As a supplier, ASML constantly updates its products, so that electronic product manufacturers can make lighter, thinner and cooler products.

How does a photolithography machine work?

The working principle is similar to that of a film camera.

When you take a photo, the moment you press the shutter button, light is refracted into the camera through the lens and projected onto the film, creating exposure. After that, you only need to soak the film in developer, and the mountains, rivers, and buildings will be printed on the film in a reduced size.

Similarly, the photolithography machine can shrink the chip pattern designed by the designer and then carve it on the semiconductor material. After post-processing, the chip is obtained. Of course, the precision of the photolithography machine has reached the nanometer level. Taking the most advanced machine as an example, the minimum size of the pattern of a single exposure is less than 22 nanometers, and the target error does not exceed 3 nanometers.

If you have money, you can do whatever you want. Do you want one?

Although chips are getting smaller and smaller, photolithography machines are getting bigger and bigger. A complete photolithography machine weighs more than ten tons and occupies hundreds of square meters. When it is delivered, it needs a Boeing 747 with all the seats removed!

As a new generation of banknote printers, photolithography machines are certainly not cheap. The NXT model equipped with deep ultraviolet light costs more than 50 million euros each, while the latest extreme ultraviolet NXE model costs more than 90 million euros each.

Even so, the sponsors are not soft-hearted. Intel and TSMC place orders for dozens of units each time. Behind the willfulness of money is the huge market demand for electronic products created by countless Chinese compatriots (tu) "buy, buy, buy". With the arrival of the Chinese New Year, it is foreseeable that there will be another wave of shopping sprees sweeping the world.

Dear friends, don’t worry, ASML will ensure that Moore’s Law continues to work. You just need to save enough money and prepare to buy the next generation iPhone!

that's all.

Today is the 1439th issue of content shared by "Semiconductor Industry Observer" for you, welcome to follow.

Follow the WeChat public account Semiconductor Industry Observation , reply to the keyword in the background to get more content

Reply Popular Science , read more popular science articles about the semiconductor industry

Reply to DRAM , read more DRAM articles

Reply Lithography , read more articles related to lithography technology

Reply Intel , see more articles related to Intel Corporation

Reply Full screen , read more articles related to full screen

Reply Dual camera , read more articles about dual cameras on mobile phones

Reply SMIC , read more articles related to SMIC

Reply TSMC , read more articles related to TSMC

Reply Exhibition , see "2017 Latest Semiconductor Exhibition and Conference Calendar"

Reply Submit your article and read "How to become a member of "Semiconductor Industry Observer""

Reply Search and you can easily find other articles that interest you!

Click to read the original text and join the Moore Elite