Chinese Researchers Develop Semiconductor Lithography Equipment Technology... Promoting Localization Amid US Sanctions

Project Achievements in Creating a New Light Source with a Particle Accelerator

Foreign media reported that Chinese researchers have developed a technology that can be used in advanced semiconductor lithography equipment. It is also claimed that China could establish a lithography equipment factory locally based on this research to counter U.S. regulations.

According to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 25th, researchers at Tsinghua University in China have made progress in the SSMB (Steady-State MicroBunching) project, which creates a new light source using a particle accelerator. China is reportedly pushing to establish a large-scale semiconductor lithography equipment factory in the Xiong'an New Area based on this technology.

SCMP explained that Tsinghua University researchers created a new light source using a particle accelerator that delivers several times higher output at a lower cost than existing EUV lithography equipment. It is also expected that in the lithography equipment factory to be built in the Xiong'an area, the particle accelerator's electron beam will be converted into a high-quality light source to be used on-site for semiconductor manufacturing and scientific research.

[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

The background for China’s move is U.S. regulations. The U.S. controls its semiconductor equipment companies from exporting advanced semiconductor equipment to China. Allied countries Japan and the Netherlands have also joined the restrictions. In this process, the Netherlands banned the export of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment from its domestic semiconductor equipment company ASML.

EUV lithography equipment is essential for producing advanced semiconductors below 7 nanometers (nm; 1 nm is one-billionth of a meter). It is used to draw circuit patterns on semiconductor wafers. With ASML being the only producer of EUV lithography equipment, China appears to have started developing its own technology as supply has been blocked.

Foreign media suggested that China’s independent development of lithography equipment could promote low-cost mass production of semiconductors and potentially lead China to play a leading role in producing ultra-fine semiconductors below 2 nm.

Professor Tang Chuanxiang of Tsinghua University, who led the SSMB project, said in a report on Tsinghua University’s website, “One of the potential applications of our research is a light source for future EUV lithography equipment. That is why the international community is closely watching our research.”

He also said, “There is still a long way to go before developing independent EUV lithography equipment,” but added, “The SSMB-based EUV light source could be an alternative technology for us in the face of sanctions.”