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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsASML, Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA all sell equipment used in semiconductor manufacturing, but they address different manufacturing problems. ASML is centered on lithography—the patterning step that transfers circuit designs onto wafers—with EUV and DUV systems plus related metrology, inspection, software, and services. Applied Materials has a much broader wafer-processing and integration portfolio spanning deposition, removal, modification, analysis, and device integration. Lam Research concentrates on wafer-fabrication equipment and support, particularly deposition, etch, and clean. KLA is primarily a process-control supplier, using inspection, metrology, analytics, and software to find defects, measure wafers, and improve yield, while also selling specialty process and PCB/component inspection products.
Those descriptions are useful centers of gravity, not rigid boxes. ASML sells metrology and inspection tools; Applied Materials and Lam Research overlap in several process categories; and KLA has specialty etch and deposition equipment. The practical comparison is therefore not “which company makes the same machine better?” It is “which manufacturing job, process step, and control requirement does each portfolio serve?”
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The four companies at a glance
The table below uses the companies’ own portfolio descriptions and filings. It identifies each supplier’s most defensible role without turning a broad business into a single-product label.
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| Company | Center of gravity | Major activities described in the company sources | Best comparison question |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASML | Lithography and patterning | EUV and DUV lithography, plus metrology, inspection, software, and services supporting patterning | What patterning technology and lithography-adjacent control tools are needed? |
| Applied Materials | Broad wafer processing and integration | Deposition, removal processes such as etch and CMP, modification such as ion implantation and thermal processing, materials analysis, and device integration | How much of the process flow can be addressed across multiple categories and integrated solutions? |
| Lam Research | Wafer-fabrication processes and installed-tool support | Deposition, etch, clean, and customer support focused on installed-tool performance and efficiency | Which process concentration and lifecycle support are required for the fab’s installed base? |
| KLA | Inspection, metrology, analytics, and process control | Inspection, metrology, software, analytics, yield services, specialty etch and deposition, and PCB/component inspection | How will defects be detected, measurements collected, and yield improved from development through production? |
These are overlapping supplier portfolios. A fab can use lithography from one supplier, deposition or etch tools from several suppliers, and process-control systems to evaluate the output of all of them. The comparison is about manufacturing function and coverage rather than mutually exclusive identities.
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Where each supplier fits in wafer manufacturing
A semiconductor fab repeats several kinds of operations to build devices on a wafer. Patterning defines where features should be formed; deposition adds films; removal processes take material away; modification changes material properties; cleaning removes unwanted residues; metrology measures dimensions or properties; and inspection looks for defects. Integration connects those operations into a manufacturable device process. The four companies participate in different portions of that chain.
Patterning: defining the intended features
Lithography is the clearest point of distinction for ASML. Its systems project patterns using deep ultraviolet (DUV) or extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light. ASML describes EUV as using 13.5-nanometer light and enabling production of the most advanced semiconductor features. Its portfolio also includes DUV and High NA EUV systems. Lithography does not replace the other steps: the patterned wafer still needs films, etch, cleaning, measurement, and defect control.
Film formation, removal, and material modification
Deposition forms layers on a wafer. Etch and chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) remove material selectively or planarize a surface. Ion implantation and thermal processing modify materials or activate process results. Applied Materials’ portfolio description spans these categories, together with materials analysis and device integration. Lam Research’s filing highlights deposition, etch, and clean as its main opportunity areas in wafer-fabrication equipment.
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Measurement, inspection, and yield learning
Metrology measures process results, while inspection searches for defects or other abnormalities. Analytics and software turn those observations into process-control information. KLA’s filing places inspection, metrology, software, analytics, and services at the center of its offering across development and production. ASML also reports metrology and inspection in its portfolio, particularly as tools supporting patterning.
ASML: a lithography-centered business
What ASML primarily supplies
ASML’s defining business is lithography. Its systems are used to print patterns that become the foundation for later deposition, etch, and other wafer steps. The portfolio includes EUV and DUV systems, High NA EUV systems, and supporting metrology, inspection, software, and services. This combination makes ASML broader than a single lithography machine, but patterning remains the organizing principle.
EUV, DUV, and High NA EUV
EUV uses 13.5-nanometer light, according to ASML’s annual-report strategy material, and is described as enabling production of the most advanced semiconductor features. DUV systems address other lithography requirements, while High NA EUV represents another part of ASML’s EUV portfolio. These labels describe lithography technology families; they do not mean that a chip is manufactured with lithography alone.
What the 2025 unit figures mean
ASML’s 2025 company overview reports sales of 48 EUV systems, 279 DUV systems, and 208 metrology and inspection systems. These are company-reported system unit figures for calendar year 2025, not market-share measurements. The figures show the scale and mix of ASML’s own shipments; they do not establish how many systems competitors sold or which supplier has the largest share of any equipment category.
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Services and adjacent control tools
ASML’s software, services, metrology, and inspection products support the patterning process around the lithography system. That adjacency matters because lithography performance is evaluated through measurements and defect information, not only through the exposure tool itself. It also explains why describing ASML solely as an “EUV company” is incomplete, even though EUV is its most distinctive technology family.
Applied Materials: breadth across process steps and integration
The categories in its portfolio
Applied Materials describes a portfolio that reaches across deposition, removal, modification, materials analysis, and device integration. Removal includes processes such as etch and CMP. Modification includes ion implantation and thermal processing. The portfolio description therefore covers several operations that occur before and after a wafer is patterned.
Why breadth changes the comparison
Applied Materials is best understood as a broad process-equipment and integration supplier rather than as a direct substitute for a lithography specialist. Its breadth can matter when a manufacturer is evaluating a sequence of related process steps, the interaction between materials and pattern transfer, or an integration approach that crosses equipment categories. The existence of several categories in one portfolio does not prove that every tool is used together, nor does it establish superiority in any single process.
Analysis and device integration
Materials analysis and device integration connect individual process tools to the behavior of the finished device. Analysis helps characterize materials and process results; integration concerns how multiple operations work together in a manufacturable device flow. The source description supports those portfolio categories, but it does not provide a like-for-like performance ranking against the other companies.
Lam Research: deposition, etch, clean, and installed-tool support
Wafer-fabrication equipment focus
Lam Research’s FY2025 filing describes a wafer-fabrication equipment and services business with opportunities in deposition, etch, and clean. These are core wafer-processing operations: adding films, selectively removing material, and cleaning surfaces or structures during repeated process cycles.
Customer support is a separate part of the proposition
The same filing describes a customer-support business focused on the performance and efficiency of installed tools. That means the comparison with Lam Research should include the equipment already operating in a fab, not just a new-tool specification. Support can involve keeping installed systems productive and efficient, but the filing does not provide a universal support result or a cross-company service ranking.
How Lam differs from a broad portfolio supplier
Lam’s stated emphasis is narrower than Applied Materials’ portfolio description: deposition, etch, and clean are the highlighted process opportunities, with installed-tool support alongside them. The two companies can still overlap in process categories. “Narrower” here describes concentration of the stated business focus, not a judgment about capability, quality, or market position.
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KLA: process control as the organizing business
Inspection, metrology, and analytics
KLA’s FY2026 filing describes inspection, metrology, software, analytics, and services aimed at yield across development and production. Inspection identifies defects or irregularities; metrology supplies measurements; analytics and software help interpret the resulting data. Together, these functions provide feedback about whether a process is producing the intended structures and materials.
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Yield and process learning
KLA’s center of gravity is process control rather than a single patterning or film-formation step. Its tools and services can be used while a process is being developed and after it enters production. That development-to-production span is important: a process-control supplier is involved in learning why a process behaves as it does, detecting excursions, and helping manufacturers protect yield.
Specialty process and PCB/component inspection
KLA’s business is not limited to inspection and metrology. The FY2026 filing also describes specialty etch and deposition activities, as well as inspection of printed-circuit boards and components. Those businesses broaden KLA’s portfolio beyond front-end wafer process control, while the filing still presents process control as the company’s central orientation.
Comparing the companies by manufacturing job
| Manufacturing job | Most directly associated supplier in this comparison | What the association means | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expose and transfer circuit patterns | ASML | EUV and DUV lithography, including High NA EUV, are the defining technologies | Patterning still depends on deposition, etch, cleaning, measurement, and inspection from other equipment categories |
| Cover several wafer-processing operations | Applied Materials | Portfolio spans deposition, removal, modification, materials analysis, and integration | Portfolio breadth does not establish that every category is used in one process or that one category leads competitors |
| Deposit films, etch structures, and clean wafers | Lam Research | FY2025 filing highlights deposition, etch, and clean, plus support for installed tools | Applied Materials also covers overlapping process categories |
| Measure, inspect, analyze, and improve yield | KLA | Inspection, metrology, analytics, software, and services span development and production | ASML also sells metrology and inspection; KLA also has specialty process equipment |
| Maintain and improve installed equipment performance | Lam Research | Customer support is described around installed-tool performance and efficiency | The source does not provide a comparable service-performance score for all four companies |
Where the portfolios overlap
ASML and KLA both touch measurement and inspection
ASML’s metrology and inspection products support patterning, while KLA’s inspection and metrology portfolio is the core of its process-control business. The overlap is real, but the stated business context differs: ASML positions those tools alongside lithography, whereas KLA organizes its portfolio around process control, analytics, and yield.
Applied Materials and Lam Research overlap in wafer processing
Applied Materials lists deposition and removal, including etch and CMP. Lam Research highlights deposition, etch, and clean. A buyer comparing them must therefore identify the exact process module, material, device layer, and integration requirement instead of assuming that one company owns an entire category.
KLA also has process equipment
KLA’s specialty etch and deposition activities prevent a simple “KLA equals inspection only” description. Those specialty businesses coexist with its inspection, metrology, analytics, and services focus. The correct distinction is center of gravity, not an exclusive product boundary.
Published figures and why they should not be turned into a league table
The available figures are not a same-period, same-definition dataset for all four companies. ASML reports 2025 system units and company-level financial figures; Lam Research’s cited filing covers a fiscal year ending June 29, 2025; KLA’s cited filing covers a fiscal year ending June 30, 2026; and Applied Materials is represented here by a portfolio description rather than a matching financial table.
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| Figure | Value | Scope and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| ASML EUV systems sold | 48 | ASML company-reported unit sales in 2025 |
| ASML DUV systems sold | 279 | ASML company-reported unit sales in 2025 |
| ASML metrology and inspection systems sold | 208 | ASML company-reported unit sales in 2025 |
| ASML total net sales | €32.7 billion | ASML company-level 2025 US GAAP figure |
| ASML gross margin | 52.8% | ASML company-level 2025 US GAAP figure |
| ASML research and development | €4.7 billion | ASML company-level 2025 US GAAP figure |
| Lam Research reporting period | Fiscal year ended June 29, 2025 | Period identified in the cited FY2025 filing |
| KLA reporting period | Fiscal year ended June 30, 2026 | Period identified in the cited FY2026 filing |
ASML’s euro figures and the other companies’ differently timed reporting periods should not be used to calculate a four-company revenue, margin, or market-share ranking. The available material does not establish a consistent denominator, currency treatment, accounting basis, or category definition for such a comparison.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A practical framework for evaluating a supplier
Use the following sequence when the question is procurement, process planning, investment analysis, or simply understanding the industry.
- Name the manufacturing job. Decide whether the immediate need is patterning, deposition, etch, clean, modification, integration, measurement, inspection, analytics, or installed-tool support.
- Define the process location. Specify whether the tool is for development, pilot work, or volume production. KLA’s filing explicitly spans development and production for process-control activities, while Lam Research’s support description emphasizes tools already installed at customer sites.
- Map adjacent steps. A lithography decision affects what must later be etched and measured. A deposition or etch decision affects what inspection and metrology must verify. This prevents evaluating one machine without its process-control requirements.
- Separate portfolio breadth from process fit. Applied Materials’ broad categories may be relevant when several operations or integration questions are involved. Lam Research’s concentration may be more informative when deposition, etch, clean, and installed-tool support are the central issues. Neither observation substitutes for a tool-level specification.
- Check measurement and yield feedback. Determine what must be measured, what defects matter, and how analytics will be used. KLA’s stated process-control focus and ASML’s patterning-adjacent metrology and inspection are relevant in different ways.
- Normalize the evidence before comparing businesses. Use the same fiscal period, currency, product boundary, and metric when analyzing financials or market position. If those inputs are unavailable, report the limitation instead of ranking suppliers.
What this comparison can—and cannot—tell you
It can explain why the companies appear together in semiconductor-equipment discussions while serving different roles. ASML is the lithography-centered supplier; Applied Materials spans many wafer-processing and integration categories; Lam Research emphasizes deposition, etch, clean, and support for installed tools; and KLA centers on process control, with specialty process and PCB/component inspection activities.
It cannot establish which company is “best,” which has the strongest competitive moat, or which has the highest market share. The cited material consists of company or regulatory descriptions suited to explaining each business’s own portfolio. A defensible ranking would require independent, like-for-like data and an explicit metric such as revenue in a defined equipment category, installed base, throughput, defect sensitivity, or total cost of ownership.
Frequently asked questions
Are ASML, Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA direct competitors?
They compete in some overlapping categories, but they are not four interchangeable suppliers. Their primary business emphases differ, and several of them participate in more than one equipment category.
What does ASML’s 2025 unit count measure?
It measures systems ASML reported selling during 2025: 48 EUV, 279 DUV, and 208 metrology and inspection systems. It is not a market-share percentage or a count of every system used in semiconductor manufacturing.
Why do the fiscal years matter?
Lam Research’s cited fiscal year ended June 29, 2025, while KLA’s cited fiscal year ended June 30, 2026. Comparing those results directly with ASML’s 2025 figures could mix different economic periods and accounting scopes.
Does KLA only make inspection equipment?
No. Its filing describes specialty etch and deposition businesses and PCB/component inspection in addition to inspection, metrology, analytics, software, and services.
Does ASML make anything besides lithography systems?
Yes. Its portfolio includes metrology, inspection, software, and services supporting patterning, alongside EUV, DUV, and High NA EUV lithography systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are ASML, Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA direct competitors?
They compete in some overlapping categories, but they are not four interchangeable suppliers. Their primary business emphases differ, and several of them participate in more than one equipment category.
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →What does ASML’s 2025 unit count measure?
It measures systems ASML reported selling during 2025: 48 EUV, 279 DUV, and 208 metrology and inspection systems. It is not a market-share percentage or a count of every system used in semiconductor manufacturing.
Why do the fiscal years matter?
Lam Research’s cited fiscal year ended June 29, 2025, while KLA’s cited fiscal year ended June 30, 2026. Comparing those results directly with ASML’s 2025 figures could mix different economic periods and accounting scopes.
Does KLA only make inspection equipment?
No. Its filing describes specialty etch and deposition businesses and PCB/component inspection in addition to inspection, metrology, analytics, software, and services.
Does ASML make anything besides lithography systems?
Yes. Its portfolio includes metrology, inspection, software, and services supporting patterning, alongside EUV, DUV, and High NA EUV lithography systems.
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