Us sanctions push china to pursue domestic asml alternative

China's top chip executives are urging the country to embark on a nationwide effort to develop its own extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography Technology, currently dominated by Dutch firm ASML, amid ongoing US sanctions.

China's challenge in building a fully independent chip industry

A recent article co-authored by the co-founder of SMIC and executives from Empyrean, Yangtze Memory Technologies, and Naura Technology, along with university professors, highlighted China's difficulties in constructing a self-sufficient semiconductor industry.

The report noted that US restrictions have targeted three key areas: electronic design automation (EDA) software, silicon wafers, and advanced manufacturing equipment, particularly EUV lithography led by ASML.

ASML's EUV machines are highly complex, comprising over 100,000 components sourced from 5,000 suppliers, with the company serving mainly as the integrator. China has made progress in EUV lasers, dual-stage platforms, and optical systems but faces significant challenges in integrating these advances domestically, the authors warned.

Coordinating China's fragmented chip industry, comprising hundreds of small EDA developers, thousands of chip designers, and dozens of wafer-equipment makers, will require strong national guidance and pooled financial and human resources.

However, recent reports indicate progress, including the development of a prototype EUV machine in Shenzhen last year, though it remains to be tested for producing working chips.

China's semiconductor leaders view a unified national effort as urgent, with some analysts predicting the country will soon have its own 2nm chip, despite US sanctions.

According to the article's authors, China should