Ultra-hard ultraviolet (EUV) lithography can significantly reduce the cost of production of 7-nm and more advanced semiconductor components, so US sanctions against China are aimed at limiting the latter country’s access to such technologies. As it turns out, Chinese equipment manufacturers are creating their own solutions to work with EUV.
Image Source: ASML
In any case, this can be judged by the patent application for “Extreme ultraviolet radiation (EUV) generators and lithography equipment” filed in China by the Shanghai company SMEE back in March last year. According to the South China Morning Post, the document describes the principles of lithographic equipment designed to work with sources of ultra-hard ultraviolet radiation. Information about the registration of such a patent application became known only this week.
Until now, SMEE has only been able to create lithographic scanners suitable for working with 28 nm and coarser technology standards. If a Chinese company masters the production of EUV scanners, this will significantly reduce the gap between Chinese chip manufacturers and foreign competitors. The leader in the supply of lithographic equipment is the Dutch company ASML. Chinese chip manufacturers are still 99% dependent on foreign suppliers, including companies from the Netherlands, the USA and Japan. All three countries limit the supply of EUV equipment to China, with the Netherlands introducing such measures back in 2019.
Starting this month, the Dutch authorities are requiring companies operating in the jurisdiction of this country to obtain export licenses to supply spare parts for ASML equipment installed in China, as well as software updates for systems operated by Chinese clients. Service maintenance of this equipment is also virtually prohibited.
The Shanghai company SMEE itself was included in the US sanctions list back in December 2022, which deprived it of the opportunity to use technologies and components of American origin in the equipment being created. Apparently, the company decided to independently create equipment for making chips using EUV lithography. The latter implies a laser wavelength of 13.5 nanometers, which is almost 14 times less than the 193 nanometer characteristic of DUV equipment. Chinese SMIC is believed to produce 7nm chips for Huawei using DUV equipment and numerous and bulky equipment. The final product is quite expensive due to the high level of defects. The transition to full-fledged EUV equipment would allow Chinese chip manufacturers to save time and money when operating it.