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If you mean a direct alternative to ASML for advanced photolithography, Canon and Nikon are the other companies named alongside it—but they are not equivalent EUV suppliers. The OECD’s 2025 overview identifies ASML as the only provider of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment. If you mean semiconductor manufacturing equipment more broadly, companies such as Applied Materials, Lam Research, Tokyo Electron, ASM, and SCREEN make tools for other steps in chip production. Those tools complement lithography; they do not replace an exposure system.
What does ASML make?
ASML designs and manufactures lithography machines. These systems use light to print circuit patterns onto silicon wafers, making lithography one step in a much larger manufacturing process. The OECD’s 2025 overview names ASML, Canon, and Nikon in advanced photolithography, while identifying ASML as the sole supplier of EUV equipment.
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That distinction matters when comparing “ASML alternatives.” Canon or Nikon may be relevant when comparing photolithography suppliers, but the available evidence does not support describing either as a like-for-like replacement for ASML’s EUV systems.
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Chip manufacturing uses different tools for different process steps. The OECD’s 2025 overview maps suppliers across several categories; the companies below are examples named for those categories, not an overall ranking.
#1 Best Overall
| Tool category | Companies named in the OECD overview | What the category does in the comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced photolithography | ASML, Canon, Nikon | Prints circuit patterns using light. ASML is identified as the only EUV equipment provider. |
| Deposition | Applied Materials, Lam Research, Tokyo Electron, ASM | Forms material layers on wafers. Supplier positions vary by deposition subcategory. |
| Dry etch | Lam Research, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron | Removes selected material to shape wafer features. The overview describes these as among the leading suppliers, not as a ranked list. |
| Wafer cleaning | SCREEN, Tokyo Electron, Lam Research | Cleans wafers during manufacturing; these tools are not lithography systems. |
| Resist coating and developing | Tokyo Electron, SCREEN | Prepares and processes photoresist around lithography, but does not perform the exposure itself. |
| Wafer bonding and alignment | EV Group, SÜSS MicroTec, Tokyo Electron, Applied Materials | Supports wafer stacking and advanced-integration processes rather than replacing lithography. |
How should you compare ASML with other equipment makers?
Start with the process step, then compare companies that make tools for that same step. Comparing ASML’s lithography systems directly with an etch or deposition tool is like comparing equipment that performs different operations: it does not identify a substitute.
- Technology and application: Within a category, identify the particular method and manufacturing application. “Deposition,” for example, covers multiple subcategories, and the OECD overview says supplier positions differ among them.
- Portfolio breadth: A company may supply tools for several process stages. Tokyo Electron says its portfolio includes deposition, coater/developer, etching, and cleaning equipment, as well as testing and 3D-integration equipment. This is the company’s description of its own offering.
- Evidence for a ranking: The OECD overview is useful for mapping suppliers, but it is not a current market-share ranking across every tool category. The available material also does not establish fab-by-fab customer qualifications or like-for-like tool performance, so it cannot support an overall “best alternative” ranking.
How large is the semiconductor equipment market?
SEMI estimated global semiconductor equipment billings at $117.1 billion for 2024, according to the U.S. House Select Committee report citing SEMI’s April 9, 2025 release. That is billings across semiconductor equipment—not lithography-only sales and not the revenue of a single manufacturer.
The same committee report states that ASML sold 583 systems in 2024, of which 418 were lithography systems. Those are unit counts, not a direct market-share comparison: the total includes different kinds of equipment with different functions and values.
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