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How the three companies’ lithography approaches compare
Lithography transfers patterns onto a wafer in repeated steps. A chip typically requires many patterned layers and other manufacturing processes, so no single lithography machine makes a complete chip. The useful comparison is therefore each company’s technology, intended role and published evidence—not one headline resolution number.
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| Company | Pattern-transfer approach | What its portfolio shows | How to read the published specifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASML | Optical projection using DUV and EUV | DUV systems for a range of layers, plus EUV systems for intricate layers on advanced logic and memory chips | Platform specifications and company sales figures describe ASML’s own products and business, not the whole market |
| Nikon | Optical projection using DUV | ArF immersion and dry systems, KrF, i-line and back-end digital lithography | Its model specifications include resolution, throughput under a stated shot count and, for certain systems, same-model overlay |
| Canon | Nanoimprint: a patterned mask is pressed into resist | The FPA-1200NZ2C is a distinct imprint system, rather than a conventional projection scanner | Canon’s minimum-linewidth figures are manufacturer-stated NIL capabilities, not directly equivalent to scanner-resolution specifications |
What ASML’s DUV and EUV systems do
DUV: immersion and dry systems
ASML’s DUV range includes immersion and dry lithography. The company describes immersion systems as workhorses for advanced logic and memory, and lists the TWINSCAN NXT:2150i among its current immersion tools. In immersion lithography, water sits between the final lens and wafer to increase numerical aperture; ASML says its immersion optics reach NA 1.35.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsASML says dry systems are often used on less complex layers because they cost less to buy and maintain. Its portfolio includes ArF, KrF and i-line systems, with uses the company describes including 3D NAND and 200 mm fabs. These are vendor descriptions, not independently verified comparisons of fab costs or yields.
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EUV: optical projection at a shorter wavelength
ASML describes its EUV systems as using 13.5 nm light. Its NXE platform has NA 0.33 and is used for advanced logic and memory layers. Its EXE platform raises numerical aperture to 0.55; ASML states an 8 nm resolution for this High-NA platform and describes it as intended to support high-volume manufacturing during 2025–2026 and future advanced nodes. Those performance and timing statements are the company’s product claims.
The different optics help explain why DUV immersion’s higher numerical aperture does not make it a straightforward winner over EUV. ASML says DUV uses lenses, while EUV uses multilayer mirrors because EUV light is absorbed by most materials; the EUV optical path therefore operates in a vacuum. Wavelength, numerical aperture and optical design work together, so NA alone is not a ranking of printable feature size.
ASML’s view is that EUV prints the most intricate layers while DUV prints other layers, and that both will be used in parallel for years. Within the portfolios covered here, ASML is the only one of the three with EUV systems.
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ArF immersion: published specifications for the NSR-S636E
Nikon’s NSR-S636E uses a 193 nm ArF excimer source and has NA 1.35. Nikon specifies resolution of 38 nm or finer, throughput of at least 280 wafers per hour at 96 shots, and mix-and-match overlay of 2.1 nm or better. These are Nikon’s specifications for this model; they should not be treated as a cross-vendor test.
Nikon defines the stated mix-and-match overlay as machine-to-machine accuracy between systems of the same model. Its December 2023 announcement says the S636E is designed for critical layers and varied structures, including 3D devices. Nikon attributes the system’s overlay and productivity approach to an enhanced inline Alignment Station that measures wafers before exposure and corrects for wafer warpage and distortion. The same announcement says output is 10–15% higher than current-generation systems, subject to conditions.
Nikon also lists the NSR-S635E and NSR-S625E as ArF immersion scanners. For the S635E, Nikon lists the same wavelength, NA, resolution and overlay threshold as the S636E, with throughput of at least 275 wafers per hour at 96 shots.
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Dry ArF and other systems
Nikon’s portfolio also includes dry ArF, KrF, i-line and back-end digital lithography equipment. In a September 2025 announcement, Nikon specified the NSR-S333F dry ArF scanner at 193 nm wavelength, NA 0.92 and resolution of 65 nm or finer. The announced throughput is at least 300 wafers per hour at 96 shots, with same-model mix-and-match overlay of 4 nm or better.
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Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How Canon’s nanoimprint system differs
Canon announced the FPA-1200NZ2C on October 13, 2023. In conventional projection lithography, optics project a pattern onto resist. In Canon’s nanoimprint lithography (NIL) description, a patterned mask presses into the resist, much like a stamp. Canon says a single imprint can reproduce a complex two- or three-dimensional circuit pattern from the mask. It presents the process as a way to reduce cost of ownership, but that is the company’s rationale rather than a verified comparison of fab economics.
Canon states that its NIL technology enables a minimum linewidth of 14 nm, which it equates to a 5 nm node. It describes 10 nm minimum linewidth, corresponding in its account to a 2 nm node, as a future capability dependent on mask improvements. These are Canon’s claims, and a node label is not a direct physical measurement of every feature on a chip.
Canon names logic, other semiconductors and metalenses for XR optics as possible applications. The cited launch announcement does not provide throughput or fab-qualification metrics, so it cannot support a like-for-like production comparison with the Nikon scanner specifications above. It also does not establish customer adoption, production yield or installed base.
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Why the headline numbers are not a league table
- The metrics differ. A scanner’s resolution specification and Canon’s minimum-linewidth claim describe different systems and are not established as measurements under a shared method.
- Wavelength and NA must be read together. For example, Nikon’s immersion scanner has NA 1.35, while ASML’s NXE EUV has NA 0.33. That does not make the Nikon scanner the more capable tool for every layer: EUV’s much shorter wavelength and different optical architecture matter.
- Overlay needs its definition. Nikon’s quoted mix-and-match overlay is specified between machines of the same model, not as a universal cross-vendor comparison.
- Throughput needs its conditions. Nikon’s cited rates are given at 96 shots. A wafers-per-hour figure without matching exposure conditions is not a controlled productivity comparison.
- A product claim is not proof of manufacturing adoption. Canon’s launch claims do not establish production yield or customer use, and a company’s system sales do not establish competitors’ market share.
What ASML’s sales figures do—and do not—show
ASML reported 48 EUV systems and 279 DUV systems among 535 total system sales in 2025. These figures describe ASML’s own sales for that year; they are not market-share figures and say nothing by themselves about Nikon’s or Canon’s sales. ASML also reported €32.7 billion in total net sales in 2025, a company-wide revenue figure rather than lithography-only sales.
Quick Recap
Which difference matters most to a reader?
- For understanding the leading-edge EUV-versus-DUV distinction: ASML spans both optical technologies, while Nikon’s listed semiconductor lithography systems are DUV.
- For comparing named optical DUV scanner specifications: Nikon publishes model-specific resolution, overlay and throughput figures with conditions that should stay attached to them.
- For understanding Canon’s alternative: NIL transfers a pattern by imprinting rather than optical projection. Its stated linewidth capability is not evidence that the system is a direct scanner substitute in production.
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