EUV vs DUV: Two Kinds of Chip Lithography and Who Gets Paid

EXPLAINED · Versus · Last reviewed: 11 Oct 2026 · Next review: after ASML’s Q3 2026 results (14 Oct 2026)

EUV and DUV are the two kinds of light chipmakers use to print circuits on silicon. EUV uses 13.5-nanometre light for the finest layers; DUV uses longer 193- or 248-nanometre light for most of the rest.

Why an investor cares: the two machines carry very different cheques. EUV is where the money per machine is, and it decides how many leading-edge AI chips and advanced memory wafers can be printed. DUV is where most of the units are, and most of ASML’s China business. For how EUV works on its own, see EUV lithography explained.

What is the difference between EUV and DUV?

EUV uses much shorter light, so it can print a finer line in one exposure. DUV uses longer light, so for the finest lines a chipmaker has to print the same layer several times and stitch the result together. That is called multi-patterning.

From ASML’s product pages (read 11 Oct 2026), its 2025 annual report and its first-half 2026 interim report. Prices are Second Order arithmetic.

ASML’s 2025 annual report puts it simply: DUV machines are the workhorses of the industry and print the majority of layers in microchips. EUV is used for the most intricate, critical layers on the most advanced chips. The two run side by side in the same fab, and ASML describes its newest EUV machine as complementary to its immersion DUV machines.

What is DUV lithography?

DUV means deep ultraviolet. Most DUV machines use an argon fluoride laser at 193 nanometres. The most advanced kind, immersion DUV, puts a thin layer of ultrapure water between the lens and the wafer, which lets the lens print finer lines. Dry DUV skips the water. Older KrF machines use 248-nanometre light for less critical layers.

DUV is not old news. ASML expects to ship about 130 immersion machines in 2026, similar to 2025, and plans 30% more immersion capacity for 2027.

Is EUV better than DUV?

For the finest layers, yes. ASML’s annual report says moving from multi-patterning on DUV to a single EUV exposure cuts the number of masks and process steps and improves yield. That is why memory makers are switching: ASML told investors on 15 July 2026 that its memory-related system sales should grow more than 75% this year, driven partly by DRAM makers replacing multi-patterning with what it called more cost-effective single-exposure EUV.

For everything else, DUV wins on cost and speed. An NXT:2100i immersion machine runs 295 wafers an hour against at least 220 for the NXE:3800E EUV machine. Per wafer-hour of capacity, the EUV machine costs about €1.05 million and the immersion machine about €0.28 million, roughly 3.7 times less (€231 million ÷ 220 and €83 million ÷ 295, our arithmetic; tool price only, before power, masks and yield). So EUV only pays where it replaces several DUV passes.

How much does an EUV machine cost compared with DUV?

ASML does not publish list prices, but its first-half 2026 interim report gives units and sales for each type. Dividing one by the other gives the average price.

ASML interim report, 15 Jul 2026. “Each” is sales divided by units, Second Order arithmetic; ASML does not publish list prices.

The split is lopsided. EUV was 32 of the 274 systems ASML sold, about 12%, but €7.9 billion of €12.8 billion of system sales, about 61%. DUV was 138 systems, about half the units, and €4.6 billion, about 36% (our arithmetic).

Who gets paid: EUV vs DUV

The money moves in a set order, and the same seller takes both cheques.

• 1. The chipmaker pays first. Foundries and memory makers buy the machines long before the chips sell. In the first half of 2026 ASML’s sales went mostly to South Korea (€7.1 billion) and Taiwan (€5.1 billion), then China (€2.9 billion), the US (€1.9 billion), Japan (€0.4 billion) and Singapore (€0.2 billion). See how Korea allocates DRAM wafers to HBM and TSMC’s capex split.
• 2. ASML is paid per box, then for service. Each Low-NA EUV box brings in nearly three times an immersion DUV box. Service and upgrades on machines already in fabs brought in another €2.8 billion in the second quarter. How that model works: what ASML does.
• 3. The suppliers inside the box. Carl Zeiss SMT is ASML’s only supplier of lenses, mirrors and other optics, and ASML says Zeiss capacity limits how many machines it can build. More in who makes EUV machines.
• 4. The DUV rivals. Canon and Nikon sell DUV machines and compete directly with ASML there. Neither sells an EUV machine. The wider tool map is in who makes wafer fab equipment.

Where is the stuck step?

The EUV box. ASML expects to ship about 65 Low-NA EUV machines in 2026 and said on 15 July that 2027 is already close to fully covered with orders. It is adding about 30% capacity for 2027, to roughly 85 machines (65 × 1.3, our arithmetic), and is only investigating another 30% for 2028. It recognised 29 Low-NA machines in the first half, so the second half has to be bigger (shipments and recognised sales are not the same count).

DUV has room the EUV queue does not. Immersion shipments of about 130 are similar to last year, and Canon and Nikon offer other places to buy. A chip that needs an EUV layer has one queue, so AI chips on 3- and 2-nanometre processes and the newest DRAM behind HBM wait on the same box. After printing, the die still needs a packaging slot, a separate clock covered in CoWoS explained.

China is the DUV side of the story. ASML expects China-related business to be around 20% of 2026 sales, mainly mainstream logic, which runs mostly on DUV (our read). China’s share fell to about 16% of ASML’s sales in the first half of 2026 from 24% a year earlier (our arithmetic). Without EUV, Chinese foundries print fine layers with DUV multi-patterning, which uses more tool time per wafer (our read). Our China note on SMIC’s margin guide shows that bind.

What would prove this wrong?

• EUV shipments slip for lack of buyers. If ASML’s Q3 or Q4 shows Low-NA shipments behind the ~65 plan because customers delay, not because of supply, the box stops binding and chip demand becomes the limit.
• High-NA takes over layers quickly. If High-NA machines replace several Low-NA steps sooner than expected, the stuck step moves to the €396 million box.
• DRAM makers slow the switch. If memory makers keep multi-patterning on DUV, immersion orders rise and EUV demand eases.

What to check next

ASML reports third-quarter results on Wednesday 14 October 2026, at 07:00 Amsterdam time (13:00 in Singapore). Look for EUV units against the ~65 plan, whether 2027 is now fully ordered, any decision on the extra 30% for 2028, and the China share against ~20%. Our Wire on TSMC’s September sales shows the buyer side.

Common misconceptions

• People assume DUV is obsolete. Actually DUV prints the majority of chip layers, and ASML plans about 130 immersion machines in 2026 plus 30% more capacity in 2027.
• People assume an EUV layer costs about the same as a DUV layer. Actually the EUV machine costs about 3.7 times more per wafer-hour; it pays only where it replaces several DUV passes.
• People assume China’s ASML purchases include EUV. Actually ASML ties its China sales to mainstream logic, and its 2025 report says non-EUV sales were driven mainly by that China business. EUV sales need a licence.

FAQ

Related terms: EUV lithography; who makes EUV machines; HBM vs DDR5; hybrid bonding.

Stack doors

Layer: Semiconductors. Also: Hyperscalers, Neoclouds, AI Data Centers. Markets: Taiwan, Korea, China.

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References