A person holds a globe and gains an insight into the market for semiconductor technology
Markets and Partners

With precision and strong partners

  • 80 percent of all microchips manufactured around the globe are produced with ZEISS optics
  • Network with more than 1,200 partners and suppliers
  • Driving innovation in the semiconductor industry

Strength in numbers

Pacesetter for digitalization

In 2018, the semiconductor industry had global sales of around USD 446 billion; by 2030 these sales will more than double to USD 1 trillion1. ZEISS is set to play a central role in this. After all, 80 percent of all microchips worldwide are currently produced with lithography optics provided by our strategic partner ASML from the Netherlands. The key element of the wafer scanners are lithography optics from the ZEISS Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology (SMT) segment. ZEISS is thus a pacesetter for digitalization, empowers chip manufacturers around the world and develops application-oriented solutions in cooperation with its strategic partner ASML and many others.

Employees from both ASML and SMT work together on EUV

Source: ASML  

Strategic partner ASML

SMT is an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) that manufactures its products for global players in the semiconductor equipment industry. In 1983, ZEISS delivered a lithography optical system to what is now ASML for the the first time. The two companies have shared a strategic partnership since 1997 with the aim of working jointly as a technological and market leader in semiconductor manufacturing. ASML is now the world’s largest manufacturer of wafer steppers and wafer scanners, with headquarters in Veldhoven, the Netherlands.

Production work at ZEISS SMT

ZEISS SMT is a facilitator

The ZEISS Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology (SMT) segment is a facilitator for the digital transformation of our every lives. With semiconductor optics, photomask systems and process control solutions. Our lithography optics and other optical systems are part of the key equipment needed for microchip fabrication. The high-precision optics, photomasks and process control solutions make the manufacture of increasingly powerful microchips possible.

ZEISS SMT produces optics for use with DUV (deep ultraviolet) as well as EUV (extreme ultraviolet) light and is already working on the next EUV generation "High-NA". The numerical aperture will then enable even smaller semiconductor structures measuring under 7  nm. During exposure, the high-precision photomasks from ZEISS SMT transfer the chip structure onto the wafer at a greatly reduced scale. Our correction and measuring systems play an important role in optimizing photomasks. We continue to work on the light of the future.

ZEISS SMT technology video

Team from ZEISS SMT wins the 2020 German Future Prize (DZP) from Federal President Steinmeier

Shaping the future through teamwork

EUV technology is a joint project

EUV technology is the decisive technological leap for microchips that are even smaller, more powerful and more energy-efficient. This development is possible thanks to around 25 years of research and development by several thousand employees in a European development alliance of around 1,200 partners.  On their behalf, the research team from ZEISS, TRUMPF and Fraunhofer was awarded the German Future Prize 2020 for the development of EUV lithography.

An employee of ZEISS SMT on her way through the warehouse

Together we will succeed

Succeed together and grow sustainably – these are the goals of Supplier Management in the ZEISS SMT segment. We consistently align ourselves with the demands of our customers in the OEM and end-customer markets. We create, coordinate and manage value creation in cooperation with our suppliers through our supply chain strategy.

Information on packaging return

According to the regulations of the German Packaging Act (VerpackG), ZEISS SMT is obliged to take back packaging within the meaning of §3 section 1 of the Packaging Act.

SMT Contact

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    Source: APPLIED MATERIALS: 2021 Investor Meeting on April 6, 2021.