The big picture
Modern semiconductor manufacturing depends on one of the most advanced industrial machines ever built: the lithography machine.
These machines print microscopic circuit patterns onto silicon wafers with nanometer-level precision.
The most advanced EUV lithography systems can cost hundreds of millions of dollars per machine.
The ecosystem behind these machines is globally concentrated.
ASML in the Netherlands leads advanced lithography, while critical components come from the United States, Germany, and Japan.
This is why semiconductor manufacturing is not just about building a factory.
It depends on a precision ecosystem built over decades.
