Why is the Dutch lithography great

1, strong investment in research and development: lithography is a highly sophisticated technology, its technical difficulty is globally recognized, if there is no sustained strong investment in research and development is simply not possible to the technological leadership.ASML from its inception to the present day, for the investment in research and development is very large, for example, in 2019, ASML's sales are roughly 2.1 billion euros, and research and development expenditures reached 480 million euros, research and development costs The proportion of revenue reached 22.8%, which is very high, and it is because of the large amount of money invested, so ASML has been in the leading position in key technology areas.

2, the United States and the European Union's support: Although ASML is a Dutch company, but he is behind the European Union and the United States of America's strength, many key technologies are provided by the United States and the European Union countries. For example, Germany's advanced mechanical processes and world-class Zeiss lenses, coupled with the light source provided by the United States, which makes the ASML company in the rapid development of optical technology, almost unrivaled situation.

3, accurately captured the technology turning point: the world's top lithography there are three manufacturers, respectively, ASML, Nikon and Canon. 2007 before the three manufacturers in fact, there is not a big gap between the three manufacturers, the turning point of the competition is the emergence of the year 2007. 2007 ASML with the direction of TSMC's technology, the launch of the 193-nanometer light source immersion system, in the optic Lens and silicon wafer into the liquid as a medium, in the original light source and lens conditions, can significantly improve the etching accuracy, and become the mainstream technology program of high-end technology. At that time, Japan's Nikon and Canon, but the main push 157 nm light source dry lithography, this route was later abandoned by the market, but also become Nikon and Canon into a recession into a turning point, and later the monopoly of ASML.