ASML (NASDAQ: ASML) is one of the most important semiconductor equipment suppliers in the world. The Dutch company is the largest producer of lithography systems, which are used to optically etch circuit patterns onto silicon wafers, and it's the only supplier of high-end extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems.

All of the world's top foundries -- including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM), Samsung, and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) -- use ASML's EUV systems to produce their smallest, densest, and most power-efficient chips. ASML monopolized this market by perfecting its EUV technology over the past three decades, and it's already rolling out its next generation of "high-NA" EUV systems to help those foundries produce even smaller and more powerful chips.

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Source Fool.com