ASML Clinches Order for Machines Making More Powerful Computer Chips

   By Maarten van Tartwijk 
 

AMSTERDAM--ASML Holding NV (ASML.AE) said Wednesday it has clinched an order for at least 15 extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, a long-awaited tool for building more powerful and energy-efficient computer chips.

The Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker said it signed an agreement with an unidentified U.S. customer for the delivery of the systems, of which two are expected to be shipped before the end of 2015.

Analysts said the most likely customer is U.S. chipmaker Intel Corp. (INTC), which has invested billions of dollars in ASML to accelerate development of the EUV technology. The order has an estimated value of around $1.5 billion, they said.

Intel wasn't immediately available for comment.

ASML supplies the world's biggest chip makers with lithography machines used to produce chips and it has a market share of more than 80%. Its EUV technology has long been pioneered as a tool to improve the power of microchips, but developing the machines has proved complex and costly.

The Dutch company has worked on the technology for more than a decade and in 2012 received financial support from Intel, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to speed up the process.

ASML said the EUV machines could help the semiconductor industry continue Moore's Law, which states the number of transistors on a chip should double approximately every two years.

Demand for more powerful chips is expected to rise in the coming decade in light of the "Internet of Things", a term used for the growing tendency for more items to be wirelessly connected.

ASML shares surged 8.6% on the news, the biggest riser in Amsterdam.

Write to Maarten van Tartwijk at [e-mail]

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