About ASML
ASML is a world leader in the manufacturer of advanced technology systems for the semiconductor industry. The company offers an integrated portfolio of lithography, track and thermal systems, mainly for manufacturing complex integrated circuits (also called ICs or chips).

ASML designs, develops, manufactures, markets and services advanced systems used by the semiconductor industry to fabricate modern integrated circuits. ASML's customers include most of the major global semiconductor manufacturers that provide the chips used in a wide array of electronic, communications and information technology products.

As the complexity of manufacturing integrated circuits with more functionality increases with each new generation of chips, semiconductor manufacturers need partners that provide leading-edge technology along with complete process solutions. ASML is committed to providing customers with leading-edge technology that is production-ready at the earliest possible date. ASML technology is supported by process solutions, enabling customers to sustain a competitive edge in the marketplace.

Founded in the Netherlands in 1984, the company is publicly traded on both the Euronext Amsterdam and the Nasdaq national market under the symbol ASML. The number of employees increased from 48 in 1984 to 4,377 in 2000. After ASML merged in 2001 with the Silicon Valley Group (SVG), the company nearly doubled in size and now employs about 7,000.

What ASML Makes
ASML manufactures lithography (or imaging) systems, wafer track systems for photoresist processing and a range of thermal processing systems for oxidation, diffusion, low-pressure chemical vapor deposition and atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition. ASML MaskTools provides software solutions extending the application of optical lithography for advanced chip manufacturing.

Locations
ASML's corporate headquarters is in Veldhoven, the Netherlands. Manufacturing sites and research and development facilities are located in Connecticut and California and the Netherlands. Technology development centers and training facilities are located in Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Taiwan and the United States. To provide optimal service to its customers, ASML has over 50 sales and service organizations in 16 countries.

Financials
In 2001, ASML reported net sales of EUR 1,844 million (net sales of SVG are included in this figure). The company is the largest semiconductor equipment company in Europe. Currently, more than half of the world’s top 20 chip manufacturers are customers of ASML.

ASML Technology Overview
ASML’s lithography, track and thermal technology is used primarily for manufacturing complex integrated circuits.

Lithography, or imaging, is the critical technology that allows semiconductor manufacturers to continually shrink IC designs and produce more chips per wafer with higher yield, faster performance and more functionality. Lithography systems called "steppers" or "Step & Scan" tools transfer the integrated circuit pattern using a photographic process, much like a camera prints an image on film. A light generated by a source such as a laser is transmitted through a photomask (a quartz plate with the master copy of the circuit image) and then through a series of lenses to project the image onto a thin slice of silicon, the wafer, which has been coated with a light-sensitive material called photoresist. The wafer is then developed and one layer of the circuit pattern appears on the wafer.

Track systems prepare the wafer before and after the lithographic systems. Semiconductor manufacturers need photoresist processing equipment, commonly known as wafer tracks, as well as imaging systems (steppers and step & scan tools). The wafer track applies a film of light-sensitive photoresist, and then the coated wafer is delivered by the track to the lithography system for exposure under high intensity light. After the wafer is exposed, the track system is used to develop the image in the photoresist. The wafer is then baked to stabilize the resist and remove any residual moisture. The result of this coat, bake, expose, develop, bake process is a relief image of the integrated circuit pattern.

Thermal oxidation and deposition systems are used to grow or deposit thin films on the surface of the silicon wafer. Depending on the film's properties, these layers establish the silicon wafer's electrical properties and act as either insulators, conductors or semiconductors. The repeated patterning and layering of thin films is what, in effect, creates the multidimensional microelectronics commonly called integrated circuits.

ASML Product Lines
ASML offers an integrated portfolio of lithography, track and thermal systems.

ASML Lithography designs, develops and manufactures equipment used to transfer the circuit pattern onto the wafer. ASML Lithography focuses on improving the lithography process by continually shrinking the size of the IC through smaller line widths (reduced resolution or feature size), thereby enabling our customers to reduce the size of the IC or add more functionality for future generations of ICs. Finer line widths allow electricity to move across the chip faster, boosting the chip's performance. Smaller feature size also increases the number of chips that can be printed on the wafer, delivering the highest productivity in the industry. ASML's ability to process more wafers per hour helps lower the overall production cost per chip. ASML Lithography has R&D and manufacturing facilities in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, and Wilton, Connecticut, and Richmond, California.

ASML Track provides wafer track systems that perform the repeated production processes of the wafer before and after lithographic exposure. These systems coat, develop and bake photoresist (a light-sensitive material) on the surface of the wafer. ASML offers a resist processing and imaging system, together with service and support. Providing integrated technology solutions becomes more important for each new IC generation, as the process complexity increases. The division has R&D and manufacturing facilities in San Jose, California.

ASML Thermal manufactures large-batch and single-wafer thermal processing furnaces, and atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition systems. ASML Thermal offers proven thermal technology and develops new technologies to meet the increasing need for highly productive, cost-effective, integrated deposition systems. ASML Thermal has R&D and manufacturing facilities in Scotts Valley, California.

ASML Special Applications focuses on solutions for application markets by providing products and services from all ASML activities to form an integrated offering for customers with special requirements. These markets include a range of devices such as compound semiconductors, Thin Film Heads (TFH), Micro Electronic Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and optical devices. ASML Special Applications also offers an array of system upgrade programs for customers that use mature technology, extending the boundaries of product knowledge. ASML Special Applications has R&D and manufacturing facilities in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, and San Jose, California.

ASML MaskTools provides enhancements to the photomask that are necessary to print integrated circuit patterns when the line width of the integrated circuit is shorter than the wavelength of light used to print the circuit. ASML MaskTools develops design simulation software to bridge the gap between semiconductor design and manufacturing, extending the limits of lithography. MaskTools is located in Santa Clara, California.

For more information, please visit www.asml.com or contact our media relations department, Yvette Bogaard, tel. + 31 40 268 64 94 or e-mail Yvette.bogaard@asml.com.