ASML is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of chip-making equipment, specializing in developing and manufacturing photolithography machines used to produce computer chips. In this article, we discuss the top ASML Competitors and Alternatives.
The company was founded in 1984 and has since grown to become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of lithography machines – a type of technology that plays a crucial role in the production of microchips.
ASML’s products provide essential tools to leading companies like Intel, Samsung, and TSMC. With escalating market competition, ASML continually invests in research and development to maintain its competitive edge, underlining its significance as a principal contributor to the progression of modern technology.
- Product Type: Photolithography systems for the semiconductor industry.
- Industry: Semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
- Founded Date: 1984.
- Founders: Philips and ASM International.
- Headquarters: Veldhoven, Netherlands.
- Area Served: Worldwide.
- Current CEO: Peter Wennink.
- Number of employees: 39,000 (2023).
- Market capitalization: $239.44 billion (2023).
Table of Contents
The top ASML competitors are
1. Applied Materials, Inc.
- Product Type: Manufacturing and supplying equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor industry.
- Industry: Semiconductor equipment
- Founded Date: 1967
- Founders: Michael A. McNeilly, James C. Morgan, and others
- Headquarters: Santa Clara, California, U.S.
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Gary E. Dickerson
Applied Materials, Inc. is a recognized leader in semiconductor materials engineering. It’s the world’s largest supplier of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the global semiconductor industry. It helps to transform materials into groundbreaking electronic devices that make the world more interconnected. Applied Materials, Inc. plays a vital role in assisting customers to build faster, smaller, and more power-efficient electronic devices in every aspect of modern life.
2. Tokyo Electron (TEL)
- Product Type: Manufacturing and supplying equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor industry
- Industry: Semiconductor equipment
- Founded Date: 1963
- Founders: Shoichiro Kurata and Tokuo Kubo
- Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Toshiki Kawai
Tokyo Electron (TEL) is a well-established company in the semiconductor production equipment industry. This multinational corporation headquartered in Japan provides specialized IC and flat panel display production equipment worldwide. TEL also provides industries with logistic, processing, and storage systems, demonstrating its wide range of expertise and product portfolio.
3. Lam Research Corporation
- Product Type: Manufacturing and supplying equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor industry
- Industry: Semiconductor equipment
- Founded Date: 1980
- Founders: David K. Lam
- Headquarters: Fremont, California, U.S.
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Tim Archer
Lam Research Corporation is an American corporation that designs, manufactures, markets, and services semiconductor processing equipment. They are experts in etching, deposition, and clean semiconductor manufacturing technologies. Their innovative solutions enable chipmakers to build smaller, faster, and better-performing electronic devices.
4. KLA Corporation
- Product Type: Manufacturing and supplying equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor industry
- Industry: Semiconductor equipment
- Founded Date: 1975
- Founders: Ken Levy and Bob Anderson
- Headquarters: Milpitas, California, U.S.
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Rick Wallace
KLA Corporation is a global leader in process control, using breakthrough inspection and metrology technologies. They ensure that the electronic devices produced by their customers meet the high quality and performance standards required by the industry. KLA is vital in improving yields and accelerating chip design and fabrication.
5. Canon Inc.
- Product Type: Imaging and optical products, including cameras, printers, and medical equipment
- Industry: Imaging and optical products
- Founded Date: 1937
- Founders: Takeshi Mitarai, Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida, and Takeo Maeda
- Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Fujio Mitarai
Canon Inc., a multinational corporation known for its imaging and optical products, is also involved in producing photolithography equipment. These devices play a critical role in producing semiconductors, enabling high-precision printing of microcircuitry on semiconductor wafers.
6. Nikon Corporation
- Product Type: Imaging and optical products, including cameras and lenses
- Industry: Imaging and visual products
- Founded Date: 1917
- Founders: Koyata Iwasaki
- Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Toshikazu Umatate
Nikon Corporation, best known for its camera and photography equipment, also provides lithography systems for the semiconductor industry. Nikon’s advanced technologies are vital in developing high-resolution semiconductor chips, contributing to information and communications technology advancements.
7. NuFlare Technology, Inc.
- Product Type: Manufacturing and supplying equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor industry
- Industry: Semiconductor equipment
- Founded Date: 2000
- Headquarters: Yokohama, Japan
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Hisashi Takamatsu
NuFlare Technology, Inc. specializes in developing lithography systems that etch delicate circuits onto semiconductor wafers. Their electron beam mask writing and inspection systems are highly rated in the semiconductor manufacturing industry for their reliability and performance.
8. ASM International
- Product Type: Manufacturing and supplying equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor industry
- Industry: Semiconductor equipment
- Founded Date: 1968
- Founders: Arthur del Prado
- Headquarters: Almere, Netherlands
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Benjamin Loh
ASM International supplies wafer processing equipment and services for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The Netherlands-based firm’s innovative products are used globally by leading semiconductor manufacturers to create integrated circuits in consumer electronics, cars, and more.
9. Veeco Instruments Inc.
- Product Type: Manufacturing
- Industry: Semiconductor
- Founded Date: 1945
- Founders: David Mann and Edward Goodrich
- Headquarters: Plainview, New York, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: William J. Miller
Veeco Instruments Inc. is a process equipment manufacturer that designs and builds products for microelectronic devices. The company’s technology primarily uses data storage, semiconductor devices, and LED lighting.
10. SCREEN Semiconductor Solutions
- Product Type: Manufacturing
- Industry: Semiconductor
- Founded Date: 1943
- Founders: Tokuji Hayakawa
- Headquarters: Kyoto, Japan
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Masahiro Hashimoto
SCREEN Semiconductor Solutions is a leading provider of semiconductor production and processing equipment. This Japanese corporation’s high-quality and high-performance product line supports the manufacturing of next-generation semiconductors.
11. Ultratech (a division of Veeco)
- Product Type: Manufacturing
- Industry: Semiconductor
- Founded Date: 1979
- Founders: Nick Konidaris and Fred Ball
- Headquarters: San Jose, California, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Revenue: US$0.3 billion (2020)
- Number of employees: 700 (2020)
Ultratech, a division of Veeco, is an innovative equipment and process solutions provider for the semiconductor industry. Offering lithography, laser-processing, and inspection systems, Ultratech supports the production of cutting-edge consumer electronics and advanced technology applications.
12. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)
- Product Type: Manufacturing
- Industry: Semiconductor
- Founded Date: 1987
- Founders: Morris Chang
- Headquarters: Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: C.C. Wei
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is the world’s most valuable semiconductor company, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, and dedicated independent (pure-play) semiconductor foundry. TSMC manufactures, sells, packaging, and tests integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan.
13. EV Group
- Product Type: Manufacturing
- Industry: Semiconductor
- Founded Date: 1980
- Founders: Aya Maria and DI Erich Thallner
- Headquarters: St. Florian am Inn, Austria
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Hermann Waltl
EV Group is a leading supplier and critical player in wafer bonding and lithography for the MEMS, nanotechnology, and semiconductor markets. This Austrian systems equipment manufacturer also delivers high-quality solutions for other emerging and future high-growth markets, such as optoelectronics and photovoltaics.
14. Aixtron
- Product Type: Manufacturing
- Industry: Semiconductor
- Founded Date: 1983
- Founders: Meino Heyen and Holger Jürgensen
- Headquarters: Herzogenrath, Germany
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Felix Grawert
Aixtron is a leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry. The German company’s diverse product portfolio includes dielectric and compound semiconductor technologies, OLED displays, carbon nanotubes, and graphene.
15. Carl Zeiss
- Product Type: Manufacturing
- Industry: Optics
- Founded Date: 1846
- Founders: Carl Zeiss and Ernst Abbe
- Headquarters: Oberkochen, Germany
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Karl Lamprecht
Carl Zeiss is a multifaceted company known for its optical systems, industrial measurements, and medical devices. The semiconductor industry offers photomask systems and optical components that have established the basis for manufacturing integrated circuits.
16. MKS Instruments
- Product Type: Instruments and systems for the analysis, measurement, and control of various parameters in advanced manufacturing processes
- Industry: Manufacturing and industrial technology
- Founded Date: 1961
- Founders: Leo Berlinghieri, Milton Chang, and William Wang
- Headquarters: Andover, Massachusetts, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: John T.C. Lee
MKS Instruments is an American company that provides instruments, subsystems, and process control solutions. MKS Instruments plays a pivotal role in producing electronic equipment by providing critical technology to some of the most demanding applications in the semiconductor and other industrial markets.
17. Energetiq Technology, Inc.
- Product Type: Light sources for advanced technology applications
- Industry: Manufacturing and industrial technology
- Founded Date: 2004
- Founders: Paul Blackborow and Debbie Gustafson
- Headquarters: Woburn, Massachusetts, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Debbie Gustafson
Energetiq Technology, Inc. develops and manufactures high-brightness light sources for advanced technology applications. Their lasers and electrodeless light sources are well-regarded in semiconductors, where advanced photolithography technology is essential.
18. SUSS MicroTec
- Product Type: Equipment and process solutions for the semiconductor industry
- Industry: Manufacturing and industrial technology
- Founded Date: 1949
- Founders: Karl Suss
- Headquarters: Garching, Germany
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Franz Richter
SUSS MicroTec is a German company specializing in photomask cleaning, laser thermal processing, lithography, and wafer bonding equipment. Their precision solutions suite is critical to producing micro-electro-mechanical systems and advanced memory chips.
19. Rudolph Technologies:
- Product Type: Process control equipment and software for the semiconductor industry
- Industry: Manufacturing and industrial technology
- Founded Date: 1940
- Founders: Otto Rudolph
- Headquarters: Wilmington, Massachusetts, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Michael Plisinski
Rudolph Technologies is a leading provider of process characterization equipment and software for wafer fabrication and nanometrology. Their products, which include macro defect inspection systems and photolithography steppers, are integral to the semiconductor production process.
20. Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
- Product Type: Equipment and systems for a wide range of industries, including semiconductors, life sciences, and industrial materials
- Industry: Manufacturing and industrial technology
- Founded Date: 1947
- Founders: Namihei Odaira
- Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Masahiro Miyazaki
Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation, a multinational conglomerate Hitachi Ltd. subsidiary, manufactures electron microscopes and semiconductor equipment. They supply advanced equipment to create tiny semiconductor chips that power various electrical devices, from computer CPUs to mobile phone chips.
21. Evatec
- Product Type: Equipment and process solutions for the semiconductor and optics industries
- Industry: Manufacturing and industrial technology
- Founded Date: 2014
- Headquarters: Trübbach, Switzerland
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Andreas Wüest
Evatec provides high-technology thin film coating solutions for semiconductor, optoelectronics, and precision optics markets. They offer state-of-the-art deposition equipment known for their precision, helping major electronics manufacturers produce more efficient and reliable products.
22. IMS Nanofabrication AG
- Product Type: Nanofabrication equipment
- Industry: Nanotechnology
- Founded Date: 2006
- Founders: Hans Loeschner, Bernhard Taborsky
- Headquarters: Vienna, Austria
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Burkhard Fechner
IMS Nanofabrication AG is an Austrian-based technology group and innovation leader in developing electron beam lithography systems. These systems find application in the semiconductor industry, where they are used for template making and direct write lithography.
23. Entegris
- Product Type: Specialty chemicals and advanced materials
- Industry: Semiconductor and electronics manufacturing
- Founded Date: 1966
- Headquarters: Billerica, Massachusetts, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Bertrand Loy
Entegris is a leading provider of specialty chemicals and advanced materials solutions for the microelectronics industry. Their products enhance the performance and extend the life of advanced semiconductor devices, thereby playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of microelectronics.
24. ASET
- Product Type: semiconductor manufacturing equipment
- Industry: Engineering and technology
- Founded Date: 1989
- Headquarters: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Area Served: Saudi Arabia
- Current CEO: Abdulaziz Al-Suwailem
ASET is a global company specializing in servicing, refurbishing, installing, and translating semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Their expertise and know-how are indispensable in keeping the machinery that drives the semiconductor industry running smoothly.
25. Intel
- Product Type: Microprocessors, chipsets, and other semiconductor components
- Industry: Semiconductor and electronics manufacturing
- Founded Date: 1968
- Founders: Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore
- Headquarters: Santa Clara, California, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Pat Gelsinger
Intel is a globally recognized brand and technology leader primarily known for its microprocessors. While not a direct competitor in lithography equipment, Intel’s manufacturing capabilities in producing semiconductor chips place them in a competitive space with ASML.
26. Analog Devices
- Product Type: Analog and digital signal processing technology
- Industry: Semiconductor and electronics manufacturing
- Founded Date: 1965
- Founders: Ray Stata, Matthew Lorber
- Headquarters: Norwood, Massachusetts, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Vincent Roche
Analog Devices designs, manufactures, and markets integrated circuits used in all types of electronic equipment. Their broad portfolio of high-performance analog, mixed-signal, and digital signal processing (DSP) technologies is paramount in modern electronics production.
27. Cadence Design Systems
- Product Type: Electronic design automation software and hardware
- Industry: Semiconductor and electronics manufacturing
- Founded Date: 1988
- Founders: James Solomon, Richard Newton, Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli
- Headquarters: San Jose, California, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Lip-Bu Tan
Cadence Design Systems is an American multinational electronic design automation (EDA) software and engineering services company. They produce software, hardware, and silicon structures to design integrated circuits, systems on chips (SoCs), and printed circuit boards.
28. JEOL Ltd.
- Product Type: Scientific and metrology equipment
- Industry: Scientific research and development
- Founded Date: 1949
- Headquarters: Akishima, Tokyo, Japan
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Izumi Oi
JEOL Ltd. is a Japanese company known for its precision equipment manufacturing and sales. They are a leading provider for the global semiconductor industry, offering electron optical equipment and analytical instruments integral in manufacturing microchips and advanced semiconductors.
29. Ushio Inc.
- Product Type: Lighting and optical equipment
- Industry: Lighting and optics
- Founded Date: 1964
- Founders: Kenji Hamashima
- Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Koji Naito
Ushio Inc. is a Japanese manufacturer offering a broad product line in the light source field. The company’s unique light source solutions are used in various application areas, including the semiconductor sector. This industry’s lithography tools contribute significantly to the miniaturization and high functionality of semiconductor devices.
These were all the main competitors of ASML. If you know any other competitors, please write in the comments below.
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