Lithography systems: Chinese physicists demand their own ASML

A host of renowned Chinese physicists and engineers review the measures taken so far to build their own semiconductor industry. They describe the sector as “small, scattered and weak.” According to them, manufacturers and suppliers are too fragmented and measures have not been targeted enough to become independent of the West. The analysis calls for “shedding illusions.”

The first author is Wang Yangyuan, co-founder of the largest Chinese chip contract manufacturer, SMIC, who, however, only held advisory roles after 2009. Today he is a professor of microelectronics at Peking University. Also among them are:

• Chen Nanxiang, head of the largest Chinese flash memory manufacturer YMTC
• Zhao Jinrong, CEO of semiconductor equipment supplier Naura Technology
• Liu Weiping, CEO of Empyrean Technology, a developer of tools for Electronic Design Automation (EDA)

Fully Chinese 7nm manufacturing is to be established

China thinks in 5-year cycles; the current one runs from 2026 to 2030. The authors want to consolidate their own 28-nanometer manufacturing technology during this period, achieve stable 14nm production, and initiate trial operation of a fully Chinese 7nm production line.

Conversely, this means: The industry does not expect to close the gap with foreign competition by 2030. The world's largest chip contract manufacturer TSMC, for example, plans to produce chips using A14 technology (formerly called 1.4 nm) from the end of 2028. That is four full generations ahead of 7nm.

According to the wording, China can now produce chips with 28-nanometer structures using its own lithography systems. According to previous reports, systems from Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (SMEE) have been available for this purpose since the end of 2023. Later, Yuliangsheng followed with alternatives.

For years, there have been question marks behind the 14nm generation regarding the yield of functional chips. China still seems to have a lot of catching up to do here. Chips in the 7nm class can currently only be produced by SMIC and Huawei using lithography systems from the Dutch world market leader ASML. However, because ASML is only allowed to sell older types to China due to export restrictions, the yield here is said to be particularly low. Production is only functioning with heavy subsidies.

Chinese ASML is essential

The export restrictions are a major reason why China wants to become independent. For example, ASML was never allowed to sell lithography systems with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light sources to SMIC & Co. All non-Chinese chip manufacturers have been using them since the 5nm generation at the latest, namely TSMC, Samsung, and Intel. Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron also use them in memory production.

The authors believe that Chinese companies have made breakthroughs in EUV light sources and the necessary optical systems. However, they emphasize that integration into a lithography system is proving to be a significant hurdle. ASML relies on over 5000 suppliers; an EUV system consists of over 100,000 individual parts. ASML itself is “merely an integrator” of the individual parts.

While China is said to already have a working prototype of an EUV lithography system, it reportedly consists largely of parts from acquired ASML EUV models.

Meanwhile, the authors recommend mergers of semiconductor companies to reduce fragmentation and pool resources. “Everyone fighting for themselves” should turn into a “team fight.”

Better integrated EDA tools and a new public platform with modern process technology should help. In addition, mechanisms and incentives should be created that promote fault tolerance, testing, and verification along the entire value chain.

The article on China's semiconductor industry was published in the Chinese Science & Technology Review. Alternatively, it can be accessed via the Wayback Machine.

(mma)