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Technology Stocks : ASML Holding NV -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kirk © who wrote (986)	2/28/2005 12:46:49 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 43407

That is a small world. So you could ask him for some inside scoop? If you do find out, please post what the future map of semiconductors looks like;-)

To: Kirk © who wrote (986)	3/7/2005 3:57:23 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 43407

Lithography seen as bright spot despite flat growth Silicon Strategies 03/07/2005, 1:46 PM ET SAN JOSE, Calif. — After strong growth in 2004, the lithography-tool market will reach $4.8 billion in 2005 — or roughly flat from last year, according to The Information Network (New Tripoli, Pa.). On the other hand, lithography is a bright spot in an otherwise down market for semiconductor equipment, according to the research firm. Non-lithography markets are expected to drop by nearly 10 percent in 2005 over 2004, the research firm said. "The lithography market will be the only growth sector in the semiconductor equipment industry in 2005," said Robert N. Castellano, president of The Information Network, in a statement. "We are now in a period of pushouts and cancellations," he said. "While unit shipments of lithography tool will drop 7 percent, average selling prices will increase at the same rate as tool shipments trend toward more expensive 193-nm DUV tools. Price increases won't be the norm for other processing tools, such as etch, deposition, or implant, and revenues will drop nearly 10 percent in 2005 across all these sectors." In 2004, ASML Holding NV of the Netherlands led the total lithography market with a 39 percent share of shipments and a 50 percent share of revenue. "The 193-nm sector proved to be more of an equalizer market in 2004, as the share spread between ASML, Nikon, and Canon was only 8 percent in unit shipments," according to the report. The future looks bright for the industry. Revenue growth for the lithography market will reach $6.4 billion in 2007, exceeding for the first time revenues of $6.0 billion registered in 2000. However, unit shipments in 2007 will reach 602 units. In 2000, 1,083 units were shipped, 625 of which were the lower-priced i-line tools. By way of comparison, an i-line tool in 2000 cost less than $3 million, compared with a price tag of $16-to-21 million for a 193-nm tool in 2004.

To: Kirk © who wrote (986)	3/24/2005 10:47:16 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 43407

Dutch ASML sees no improvement in chip demand Thu Mar 24, 2005 10:30 AM ET By Lucas van Grinsven EINDHOVEN, Netherlands (Reuters) - Dutch chip equipment maker ASML (ASML.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) (ASML.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it sees no major demand improvement for semiconductors and that low capacity utilization at its customers continued to create an uncertain market for its machines. "The number of chips sold is reducing and at one point this may translate in fewer machines sold," Chief Executive Eric Meurice said at the annual general meeting of the world's biggest chip lithography machines maker. "Very naturally if our customers are not producing chips, their utilization rate falls. It's around 80 percent, and that's not a dramatic situation like 2001 when it was around 50 percent. But if you're a semiconductor company you're probably not thinking about adding capacity at the moment," Meurice said. "We don't know what the second half is going to look like," he added, reiterating that he was cautious about the market as he had been in January. But he saw a silver lining in low inventories. "The good news is that there doesn't seem to be a lot of inventory (anymore)," Meurice said. Market research firms said earlier this week that chip inventories were back at normal levels after electronics goods makers had started getting rid of inventories in the fourth quarter of 2004. Meurice said chip market revenue growth forecasts for 2005 from various market research groups varied between a 6 percent drop and a 9 percent rise, and this could mean the market for chip lithography machines could vary between 400 and 500 units. ASML, which claims around 50 percent of all the dollars spent on chip litho equipment, competes with Japanese rivals Canon (7751.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and Nikon (7731.T: Quote, Profile, Research) . Meurice reiterated that ASML would decide before July if it would start producing machines to manufacture flat displays, a market segment currently served only by Canon and Nikon. "We're confirming we have a good concept that adds value. We are at this very moment progressing with discussions to get commitments from potential customers," he said. He also said ASML was getting ready to ship its fourth generation of 'immersion' lithography machines in early 2006. This marks the company's attempt to deliver high volume versions of these machines that use water between the silicon wafer and the lens for finer geometries. A completely redesigned machine, using a new light source called Extreme Ultra Violet (EUV) for even finer chip circuits, would be at the prototype stage after the first half of 2006.

To: Kirk © who wrote (986)	7/13/2005 2:23:02 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 43407

ASML, Canon, Nikon tip immersion roadmaps Mark LaPedus EE Times (07/12/2005 9:09 PM EDT) SAN FRANCISCO — During the Semicon West trade show, ASML Holding NV, Canon Inc. and Nikon Corp. separately tipped their roadmaps for immersion lithography. The three companies are racing each other to develop 193-nm systems with hyper numerical apertures (NA) of 1.3 for use in chip designs at 45-nm and below. Japan's Nikon recently rolled out what the company claimed was the world's first hyper NA immersion system for volume chip production at 55-nm and R&D at 45-nm. The NSR-S609B from Nikon (Tokyo) is a 193-nm immersion, "tandem-stage" lithography scanner with a hyper NA of 1.07. At Semicon on Tuesday (July 12), Nikon disclosed some details about its next-generation machine. Dubbed the S6xx, the 193-nm immersion lithography tool from Nikon is said to feature a "tandem-stage" design and a multi-axial catadioptric lens with an NA of 1.3. Geared for production at the 45-nm node, the 4X machine will have a 26- x 33-mm field size. Shipments of the tool are slated for late 2006 or early 2007. Meanwhile, as expected, ASML (Veldhoven, the Netherlands) rolled out the XT1700i, a 193-nm immersion tool with a hyper NA of 1.20 (see July 6 story). ASML is also quietly developing the XT1900i, a 193-nm, immersion system with a hyper NA of 1.3. Like the XT1700i, the new tool is reportedly based on the company's Twinscan "dual-stage" design and a uni-axial catadioptric lens, according to sources. ASML was originally supposed to ship the XT1900i in late 2007, but the company is reportedly accelerating that schedule, sources said. At Semicon, Canon also tipped its first immersion tool, a 193-nm machine with a dual-stage design and a hyper NA of 1.3, said Damian Thong, an analyst with Macquarie Securities Japan Ltd. (Tokyo). Canon (Tokyo) is expected to ship the so-called FPA7000 machine in January of 2007, said Thong, who attended a briefing given by the company at Semicon. Unlike ASML and Nikon -- which are taking incremental steps towards hyper NAs of 1.3 -- Canon is moving from "dry" 193-nm tools to immersion with a hyper NA of 1.3, he said. Thong indicated that ASML and Nikon are ahead in the race. "It was perceived that ASML was leading in immersion," he said. "It now appears that Nikon is toe-to-toe and eyeball-to-eyeball with ASML." One expert downplayed the recent announcements in immersion, saying that the technology has not proven itself in the real world or in production fabs -- yet. "The Nikon and ASML immersion tools are on schedule as we had expected," said Peter Silverman, a fellow and the director of capital equipment technology strategy for Intel Corp. (Santa Clara, Calif.) "There really isn't any story until someone reports some statistically significant data on products," he said. "I suspect that will not occur for several more months."