Sample image of the Netherlands' ASML EUV lithography machine (Source: ASML official website)
AsianFin – China has made a major breakthrough in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography light source technology, a move that could significantly advance the country's efforts to reduce reliance on Western semiconductor equipment and overcome U.S. export restrictions.
Researchers from the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have successfully developed a laser-produced plasma (LPP) EUV light source driven by solid-state lasers—an alternative to the carbon dioxide lasers used in advanced chipmaking machines from Dutch lithography giant ASML.
The team, led by Lin Nan, achieved a conversion efficiency (CE) of 3.42%, a performance level that surpasses many global research institutions and reaches more than half of the CE used in commercial systems.
The breakthrough, first reported by Global Times-affiliated outlets, represents a key step in China's drive to domestically develop core components of EUV lithography, which is critical for manufacturing leading-edge semiconductors at 7nm and below.
EUV lithography, which uses light with a wavelength of 13.5nm, enables chipmakers to etch finer patterns onto wafers than traditional deep ultraviolet systems. ASML remains the sole global supplier of EUV lithography machines, with carbon dioxide laser-powered LPP light sources provided by Cymer, a U.S. subsidiary.
Due to U.S. export restrictions introduced in 2019, ASML is banned from shipping its most advanced EUV systems to Chinese customers. That has left China's semiconductor industry seeking homegrown solutions. Lin Nan's team may have brought the country closer to that goal.
While the 3.42% CE achieved by the Shanghai-based researchers is below the 5.5% threshold required for commercial deployment, the team believes the theoretical ceiling for their solid-state system could approach 6%, closing the performance gap with existing industry solutions. Their findings were published in the March 2025 issue of Chinese Laser magazine.
Lin Nan, a former ASML light source scientist and now Chief Technology Officer at the Shanghai Institute, brings deep international expertise. He holds over 110 patents globally and has collaborated with renowned institutions such as ETH Zurich, Paris-Saclay University, and Nobel laureate Anne L'Huillier's lab in Sweden.
In earlier research published this February, Lin's team demonstrated a record-breaking 52.5% CE in a broadband EUV generation scheme, underscoring China's ambitions to build both lithography and metrology capabilities internally.
Despite the promising results, commercialization remains years away. ASML CFO Roger Dassen commented earlier this month that while China may eventually produce EUV sources, assembling a full-scale EUV lithography system will remain a long-term challenge. ASML's NXE:3400C and NXE:3400D models currently dominate the market, with clients including TSMC, Samsung, and Intel.
Still, China is ASML's largest market by revenue. In 2024, the Dutch firm generated €10.2 billion ($10.9 billion) from China—36% of its total sales—even as it remains unable to ship EUV systems due to U.S. pressure on Dutch export policy. ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet previously warned that such restrictions would delay China's chip technology by 10 to 15 years.
Chinese officials have pushed back strongly. A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. of abusing national security pretexts to impose “hegemonic” tech blockades, arguing that such efforts violate global trade rules and disrupt supply chains. Beijing has called on the Dutch government to take a “fair and objective” stance and uphold its contractual obligations.
For now, Lin Nan's lab-scale system still falls short of industrial requirements, but analysts say the progress underscores China's determination to localize key semiconductor technologies. Solid-state laser systems are more compact and potentially more power-efficient than their CO2 counterparts, and the researchers believe the platform could soon be used for EUV mask inspection and early-stage exposure validation.
This development adds momentum to China's broader semiconductor push, which remains a national priority amid escalating tech tensions with Washington.
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