The Sole Leader

In this tech-savvy world, many companies are continuously innovating new technologies and paving the way for advancements. But in this neck-to-neck competitive tech war between firms, one company stands out way ahead in its space: the Dutch giant ASML Holding, which stands for Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography. The only firm in the world specialized in making world-class lithography machines, used in making the advanced chipsets. A single lithography machine can cost up to 190 million USD.

ASML is the sole supplier of EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography machines in the world, which are used to make one of the most advanced chipsets. The science behind the whole process is quite complex, but without any jargon, let's start. Firstly, the silicon cylinders are transformed into thin wafers, and then litho-machine uses a laser to convert tiny molten Tin droplets into plasma. As a result, extreme ultraviolet rays are emitted, which are used to print (or engrave) tiny, intricate circuitry with atomic accuracy on the silicon wafers. This printing technique consists of many different layers through which numerous transistors can be printed, which eventually increases the chipset's efficiency. The wafer is cleaned with chemicals to remove any photoresist or contaminant that can cause performance issues, and then at last it is ready to cut into tiny chips—the soul of our electronic gadgets.

A single lithography machine has more than 100,000 parts.

The above process is not as easy as it seems; the working conditions for litho machines are very demanding. They work in zero-dust environments with air purifiers and vacuums, as a tiny molecule of dust can harm the million-dollar machine parts. The machine uses sets of mirrors to focus the beam of EUV, which consists of photomask patterns. The mirrors used are manufactured by Zeiss, one of the leading firms in optics. 

ASML is also developing a new generation of EUV machines with high numerical aperture, which are used to make chips with higher resolution and more power. As of now, the company is the second most valuable tech company in Europe, with annual revenue of 28 billion dollars. 

What is nanometer terminology in chipsets ?

10nm, 6nm, 5 nm... more. Do you ever think of what kind of measurements they are and why it is  important. Firstly, they are the size of components present on the chip (primarily transistors); the smaller the components, the more they can be placed on a single chip, hence increasing its overall efficiency and processing power. So the smaller the nm (size), the more powerful the chip. 

Thank You, 

Sarthak P. Khode 😊