‘A spoiled company’ that embarrassed the semiconductor kings… ASML who are you

While large-scale semiconductor companies such as Samsung Electronics and Taiwan’s TSMC have announced large-scale investments, ASML, the world’s only manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) exposure equipment, is attracting attention. As the world’s first and second largest semiconductor makers line up asking each other to’give me the equipment,’ it is evaluated that they “hold the’key’ of the semiconductor supercycle.”

ASML is a company that makes EUV exposure equipment indispensable for semiconductor microprocessing. This equipment is necessary for the semiconductor exposure process (work that engraves a circuit on a wafer, which is a semiconductor original plate, as if taking a picture). If the wavelength of light is short, it is possible to finely draw a semiconductor circuit on a wafer. ASML’s equipment uses extreme ultraviolet rays, which is a 14th level of 193nm (nanometer·1nm = 1 billionth of a meter) The work is possible. In this respect, it is considered as a key device in the ultra-fine semiconductor process of 5 nm or less.

In the past, Japanese Nikon and Canon also released products, but they disappeared in the EUV market as they were pushed by ASML. An official from the semiconductor industry said, “It is the only field in the latest semiconductor supply chain that has only one supplier,” and said, “Semiconductor manufacturers have no choice but to notice.”

In October of last year, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited ASML headquarters in Belthoven, the Netherlands despite the Corona 19 situation to discuss equipment supply plans. Han Tae-hee, professor of the Department of Systems Semiconductor Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University, said, “In the process of building a semiconductor factory, 20-30% of the land or buildings are. The proportion of equipment and utilities is that high,” he said. “You can guess the value of ASML.”

The main reason for ASML’s dominance in the market is that only those in their 30s to 40s can produce equipment a year. It has a zero-sum character, in which one semiconductor company gets one, and competitors take it away. ASML plans to ship 31 units last year and 40 units this year.

Because of its high technical barriers, it is sometimes referred to as a’spoiled company’ in the industry. Currently, there is a backlog of orders, so you have to wait at least a year to get the equipment. It only takes 5 months to build the equipment. A total of 100,000 parts fit in a machine weighing 180t and 4~5m high. The internal atmospheric pressure must be maintained at the level of 100,000th of the atmosphere, and a technology to control the temperature in units of 0.005 degrees is also required. It took about 20 years for ASML to develop and commercialize EUV equipment. It is known that the price per unit is 150 billion to 200 billion won, and recently 300 billion won.

Hyung-myung Kim, a researcher at Shinhan Financial Investment, said, “As the demand for microprocessing increases, the more the role of EUV equipment emerges, the greater the corporate value of ASML.”

ASML’s stock price, listed on the US NASDAQ market, is also struggling. As of the 22nd (local time), the market capitalization was 2,616 trillion won, exceeding Intel (256 trillion 570 billion won), which was regarded as the’lord of semiconductors’. Last year’s sales were 14 billion euros (about 18.700 billion won) and net profit of 3.6 billion euros (about 4.8 trillion won), the highest ever. Peter Benningk, CEO of ASML, said, “The sales target for EUV equipment this year is 4.5 billion euros (about 6 trillion won), up 30% from last year.”

Reporter Kwon Yujin [email protected]