ASML vs Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (Group) Co., Ltd.
Updated onCompare ASML and Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (Group) Co., Ltd. side-by-side. See how they stack up on features, pricing, and target market.
ASML
ASML is a Dutch multinational that designs, manufactures, and services advanced lithography systems and related software used to mass-produce semiconductor chips.
vs
Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (Group) Co., Ltd.
Chinese company that designs, manufactures, and sells lithography systems and other semiconductor manufacturing equipment and services.
Which should you choose?
ASML
You need proven High‑NA/EUV and leading DUV immersion for high‑volume manufacturing at 5–2 nm (and below) with a mature global service ecosystem—i.e., state‑of‑the‑art logic/DRAM ramp—choose ASML.
Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (Group) Co., Ltd.
You are a China‑based fab prioritizing domestically supplied DUV and advanced‑packaging lithography for mature nodes (roughly 90–28 nm‑class) and want to mitigate foreign export‑license risk—choose SMEE.
Key differences
| Category | ASML | Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (Group) Co., Ltd. | Why? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Packaging Focus (China) | SMEE’s 500‑series advanced‑packaging lithography tools have been announced and sold to domestic customers, positioning it well for China‑based back‑end lines. | ||
| Ecosystem & Integrations | ASML offers a holistic patterning stack that combines scanners with computational lithography (Brion) and metrology/inspection (YieldStar, HMI e‑beam), reducing process variability and improving yield; SMEE’s public materials emphasize tool families (front‑end and packaging) but less on integrated computational/metrology suites. | ||
| Feature Depth | ASML is the only supplier shipping EUV and High‑NA EUV (NXE for 7/5/3 nm; EXE:5200B targeting sub‑2 nm), whereas SMEE focuses on DUV with 600‑series front‑end tools (~90 nm) and media‑reported development of a 193‑nm ArF immersion tool for ~28‑nm class. | ||
| Security & Compliance (Export Controls) | ASML’s EUV and certain advanced DUV shipments to China require or face restricted licensing, while SMEE sells domestically in China—though SMEE itself has been on the U.S. Entity List since Dec 2022—so China‑only buyers may find SMEE more obtainable for restricted nodes. | ||
| Support & Global Footprint | ASML maintains a large worldwide service organization and dedicated EUV training centers (e.g., Taiwan), facilitating complex installs and uptime across regions; SMEE’s publicly visible support footprint is primarily domestic. |
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