Part 2/8:
At its core, ASML manufactures lithography systems, which are essential in producing the highly complex semiconductor chips powering modern technology. Kristof explains that lithography systems effectively "print" electronic circuits onto silicon chips, a process that has matured over the company's 40-year history.
ASML is uniquely positioned in the semiconductor market as the sole provider of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines. The challenges in creating EUV technology involve both generating the light necessary for the printing process and the optics used to guide that light. Kristof notes that after two decades of extensive research and development, ASML has made significant strides, solving complex scientific hurdles to industrialize EUV lithography.