ASML and Dutch Physics: A History of the Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography (ARCNL), 2014-2024

In 2014, the global market leader in advanced chipmaking machines ASML joined forces with NWO, AMOLF, the University of Amsterdam, and Vrije Universiteit to establish a new research institute in the Netherlands: the Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography (ARCNL). ARCNL represents a unique form of public-private collaboration in science, aligned with a political climate that actively encouraged partnerships between academia and industry. How did this collaboration come into being, and how did it function in practice? And what consequences did this institutional arrangement have for the scientists involved?

ASML and Dutch Physics draws on archival research and interviews to offer insight into how science and industry interact, the motivations that drive such partnerships, and how scientific and technological perspectives are balanced. It reveals how the political and societal context of the twenty-first century imposes new demands on contemporary scientists.

Hein Brookhuis (University of Amsterdam) studied History & Philosophy of Science at Utrecht University and obtained his PhD from KU Leuven (2024) with a dissertation on Belgian nuclear research.