Physics internship: Imaging performance analysis

Physics internship: Imaging performance analysis

This internship is within the customer support applications business support (CS ABS) department. Our scanners are continuously running production at the customer fabs and should be operating in the best possible state. When customers detect a variation in their on-product imaging performance (e.g. the printed lines thickness is varying) it can cause the yield of their chip production to drop and the customer to start losing money. It is then our role, together with the local teams at sites around the world, to diagnose which of the many system components (aberrations, focus, dose, illumination, etc.) is deviating and ensure the issue is solved.

The different features and types of chip patterns a customer print are however sensitive to different kinds of deviations in the scanner, and there are many (30+) possible components in the scanner that could impact imaging. It therefore requires complex analysis to check for possible deviations and point out which one has the largest impact and highest priority. As time is money (sometimes more than 100k euro per hour) it is extremely valuable to make this analysis as fast, automated and predictive as possible.

Your assignment

On a high level, we envision you will go through the following steps:

• Investigate what is the relevant scanner data needed for imaging performance analysis, and what are the available methods/tools for collecting this data from customers.
• Determine the best approach to extract and visualize the most critical metrics in an automated way.
• Investigate the best approach to convert these metrics using sensitivity coefficients to on-product imaging performance indicators, that cover customer specific use cases.
• Aim for a tool that can ultimately be rolled out and put to use by both the Veldhoven based CS teams as well as the various CS field teams around the world.

During the assignment you will be, among others, working together with imaging experts in the CS department to understand the current diagnostics methodology, engage with imaging experts in the Development and Engineering department to review the most optimal conversion methodology and reach out to various global field engineering teams to make sure the tooling can be ultimately implemented in their troubleshooting operations.

This is a master thesis or a master apprentice internship (to gain work experience within the industry), starting in August or September 2025 for a minimum of 6 months (32/40 hours per week).

Your profile

You are ideally a Master (MSc) student in Physics, Optics or a related (engineering/technical) discipline with an affinity for imaging and lithography.

The following skills are essential for a successful internship:

• You are skilled in tooling like MATLAB and/or Python for data processing and visualization
• You possess analytical thinking and are motivated to learn
• You are communicative and proactive in reaching out to various experts in order to determine the best approach
• You have excellent communication skills in English (verbal and written)

Other requirements you need to meet

• You are enrolled at an educational institute for the entire duration of the internship;
• You need to be located in the Netherlands to be able to perform your internship. In case you’re currently living/studying outside of the Netherlands, your CV/motivation letter includes the willingness to relocate.
• If you are a non-EU citizen, studying in the Netherlands, your university is willing to sign the documents relevant for doing an internship (i.e., Nuffic agreement).

This position requires access to controlled technology, as defined in the United States Export Administration Regulations (15 C.F.R. § 730, et seq.). Qualified candidates must be legally authorized to access such controlled technology prior to beginning work. Business demands may require ASML to proceed with candidates who are immediately eligible to access controlled technology.

Diversity and inclusion

ASML is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values and respects the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce. It is the policy of the company to recruit, hire, train and promote persons in all job titles without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a driving force in the success of our company.

About Us

ASML is a leading supplier of lithography equipment, used by the world’s top chipmakers to print microchips that are increasingly powerful, fast and energy efficient. Working at ASML is inspiring, no matter what field you're in. That’s because we push the boundaries of technology: if it’s moving the world forward, chances are, we’re behind it. In fact, we’re probably a part of the electronic device you’re using right now.

We’re a global team of more than 32,000 people from 122 different nationalities and counting. Headquartered in Europe’s top tech hub, the Brainport Eindhoven region in the Netherlands, our operations are spread across Europe, Asia and the US.