The lithography/EUV optics comes from Zeiss. The laser for generating the plasma from Trumpf. Both key elements that ASML would not be able to build in-house or get from a different supplier.
There's a lot of expertise with lithography around the world too (companies like Canon build lithography machines), but we're not talking the usual levels of it.
The EUV lasers ASML/TRUMPF builds don't even work the same way other "conventional" lasers would[1]. You physically can't get there by incrementally improving some existing process. Now I don't know how ZEISS makes mirrors that blown up to the size of a country would have imperfections smaller than a human hair, but I'm pretty sure it's no small feat either.
These companies invested decades and untold sums into this when few other companies even had incentive to attempt it themselves. Sure, other companies could eventually replace them, but you're not closing a 2-decade technology gap in an afternoon.
[1] It's a bit insane, really. Vaporizing falling droplets of tin with two laser pulses 100,000 times a second to get just the right wavelength? Here's a good video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ge2RcvDlgw
It is impressive for sure, but still a lot of other things are. Mirror arrays on JWST, fusion ignition lasers. Diffraction limited optics aren't exactly last year development either: there's a host of other places across several countries who can match Zeiss for what is essentially bespoke builds.
> there's a host of other places across several countries who can match Zeiss for what is essentially bespoke builds.
Ah yes. No development time involved here at all. They just built it. I don't know what ASML, TRUMPF, Zeiss, and occasionally the Fraunhofer Institute were mucking about for 25 years. Completely boring bespoke build. Bah. Could get it from anyone else by next week. Pick an off-the-shelf coating too and be done.
It's a wonder nobody else is taking a slice of those ~4 billion USD of revenue Zeiss is making off a bunch mirrors for lithography machines each year.
There’s always these weird bottlenecks in the supply chain though.
My favorite example is during Covid where reduced boron quantities resulted in less Pyrex glass that makes test tubes meaning transporting vaccines was at points rate limited.
I’ve read similar points in the components for lasers to ASML but can’t remember specifics. Chip shortage is the funny one, ASML require more chips that limit their turnaround times which in itself limits chips.
Totally! Like I said - biometrics is a very bad idea for anything actually sensitive. I wouldn't let my door lock open upon seeing my face - high convenience but high risk. But I don't mind a PAM module on a non-portable desktop computer that would let me passwordless sudo when camera sees me - low risk, high convenience.
And if some credit organization or airport security says they're fine with using it - I see this as their risks, not mine. And giving them my biometrics isn't hurting me because I won't use it for anything I care about. Unless, of course, I'll be forced to, somehow - but I doubt that's likely.
I see MasterCard doing this as they estimated a risk-to-profit factor to be satisfactorily low. My overall impression of banking/finance industry is that they're very different when it comes to security - they tend to have what we'd call poor security practices, but they compensate this by taking responsibility for when things fail, swallowing the losses (cheaper than upgrading everyone and everything) and just making sure they earn more than they lose. It's more prominent in US (where half of the industry relies on knowing last four of secret SSN number that you have to share-not-share with a lot of companies, and some very "secret" questions like my birthday - and the economy still works somehow!) than in EU, though.
Stop it. You’re either a paid propagandist, you are an unwitting soldier, or you are knowingly fighting a culture war. Just stop it’s gross and unbecoming. if you are being sincere, I apologize but you still need to stop. Stop watching videos like that that are meant to make you mad, ignore people who are just trying to steal brain cycles from you, and for the love of all that is good don’t go reposting them; you are benefiting the person in that video and giving them exactly what they want and in essence agreeing with their entire perspective. Stop it.
