China's semiconductor industry might have taken one of its most significant technological leaps, as a report claims that the nation has built the first domestic EUV prototype.
China's EUV Prototype Is Expected to Tape-Out Chips By 2030, Built by Older Parts of ASML's Machine
Beijing has been pushing towards an EUV breakthrough for several years now, with firms like SMIC attempting to replicate ASML's technology by reverse-engineering and poaching talent. Now, Reuters has disclosed that efforts over the years have paid off in China's favour, as the report claims that the nation has developed an EUV lithography prototype, which is said to be fully operational and generating UV light intended for the photoresist. However, while the breakthrough seems optimistic, China still relies on old ASML parts, but the progress in such a short time span is said to be a shocker.
In April, ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet said that China would need "many, many years" to develop such technology. But the existence of this prototype, reported by Reuters for the first time, suggests China may be years closer to achieving semiconductor independence than analysts anticipated.
- Reuters
While EUV lithography machines have several complexities within them, and we still don't know the technique employed by Chinese engineers with their prototype, the report states that engineers have been relying on parts from older ASML machines. More importantly, the machine hasn't taped out any chip yet. However, sources claim that China could make EUV mainstream by 2030, which is a timeline far earlier than what estimates had previously suggested, when discussing when China could catch up to the US in the semiconductor race.
With the AI hype, the need for self-built semiconductors in China has massively grown, and companies like Huawei are scrambling for chip capacity by building a network of facilities in collaboration with SMIC. Interestingly, the pursuit of high-end chips was also evident in how SMIC's N+3 process turned out, which is claimed to be a rival of the mainstream 5nm process, but was developed due to the technological limitations that China faces. For now, we need to learn more about how China's EUV machine operates, specifically regarding the light source and other parameters, but this is a significant development.
About the author: Muhammad Zuhair is a hardware and technology reporter for Wccftech, specializing in the semiconductor industry and the complex interplay between technology, manufacturing, and geopolitics. His coverage focuses on the corporate strategies and technological roadmaps of industry giants like TSMC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Intel. Zuhair's expertise lies in deconstructing complex topics such as fabrication nodes (e.g., 2nm process), the economic impact of policies like the CHIPS Act, and the strategic development of AI infrastructure from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
