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Image source: ASML
A secret laboratory in China has reportedly quietly assembled a prototype of an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography system and is currently secretly testing it, meaning China may be close to replicating the most advanced technology currently existing on Earth Reuters.
The tool was reportedly developed by reverse engineering ASML’s existing scanners and is said to be expected to produce prototype chips in 2028. If the information is correct, it seems highly unlikely that Chinese scientists have made numerous breakthroughs in multiple disciplines in just a few years rather than decades. Further analysis of the report showed that Chinese labs are far from finished with the tool, meaning the country is still years away from using EUV lithography to make chips.
China’s alleged EUV scanner
The system was reportedly completed in early 2025 in a high-security facility in Shenzhen, occupying almost the entire factory floor. The Chinese machine reportedly uses the same laser-generated plasma (LPP) method as the ASML Twinscan NXE machine to generate EUV light at a wavelength of 13.5nm, rather than the particle accelerator-based steady-state micro-beaming (SSMB) method designed by Tsinghua University or the discharge-generated plasma (DPP) technology developed by Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), which may prove that the system is reverse-engineered, or at least contains a lot of technology pioneered by ASML.
Image source: ASML
ASML’s laser plasma (LPP) method uses tiny droplets of molten tin, about 25-30 microns in diameter, injected into a vacuum chamber at a rate of about 50,000 drops per second. The high-power CO2 laser then first fires a low-intensity pre-pulse into each droplet, flattening it into a disk, and then emits a more powerful main pulse, which vaporizes the flattened tin and creates a superheated plasma with temperatures in excess of 200,000°C. This plasma emits isotropic EUV light, which is then collected by a large multilayer collection mirror and directed into the reflective optics of the lithography system to pattern the silicon wafer. This process repeats tens of thousands of times per second.
The machine is reportedly larger than the original, but it can produce EUV radiation. However, it has not yet made progress in making usable chips, as it is still working to replicate the “precision optics” capabilities with the Twinscan NXE system. Furthermore, there is no mention of the power of the EUV light source, a key parameter that determines whether the tool can be used in series production.
Temporarily unavailable
The report clearly states that China’s EUV scanners cannot currently be used to make chips, but the Chinese government reportedly hopes to have the first chip prototypes in 2028, two or three years from now. However, a more realistic target is 2030, which is four or five years from now, which is a long time. At the same time, judging from reports, it is not entirely clear what stage the Chinese team is currently at.
Image source: ASML
The report does not reveal which specific components of the optical system are the main bottlenecks, as the article groups them broadly. In particular, it is uncertain whether so-called EUV tools have difficulty replicating ultra-precise collector mirror systems coated with multilayer molybdenum-silicon (Mo/Si) stacks, illumination optics (which use polygon mirrors to shape and homogenize the beam), or projection optics (a series of aspheric mirrors with sub-nanometer wavefront errors for 4X – 8X downscale imaging). ASML outsources the development and production of these components to Carl Zeiss in Germany. If the developers fail to replicate the collector itself, the rest of the machine can hardly be called an EUV lithography system, because technically the only thing they have is some kind of light source that they haven’t learned how to use yet. However, even if the developers can’t replicate the illuminator optics or the projection optics (indicating that the collector itself is there), that still means they don’t even have an EUV lithography tool that doesn’t work well, but rather a set of certain components.
When talking about advanced lithography equipment, we must remember that such tools rely on the seamless integration of complex light sources, advanced optics, ultra-precision mechanical engineering, complex control software, and specialized materials, all of which must operate reliably within the nanometer-scale tolerances required for modern chip manufacturing. The story makes no mention of the status of the alleged tool’s mechanical systems: We know nothing about the wafer storage system, wafer stage, or reticle stage, all of which are critical to operations and throughput.
Image source: ASML
Judging from China’s EUV efforts, the secretive lab is nowhere near building an alpha tool. Currently, Chinese labs can’t even shine light onto wafers beyond printed lines and space, something ASML’s tools could do in 2006, some 11 years after the company launched its first Twinscan NXE:3400B system for high-volume manufacturing. Of course, reverse engineering certain components could give Chinese engineers a speed boost, but how significant that will be remains to be seen.
Reverse engineering ASML Twinscan NXE?
according to Reuters’ China’s EUV tools were “developed” by a team that included former ASML engineers and recent college graduates who allegedly reverse-engineered the company’s EUV machines, according to sources familiar with the work. The clandestine laboratory was so secretive that its employees carried fake IDs to avoid foreign spies discovering they were concentrated in one location.
Image source: ASML
However, it is unclear how engineers from China could reverse engineer EUV lithography scanners, as the Dutch company has never supplied EUV lithography scanners to China and has barely taught Chinese personnel how to maintain EUV systems that it is not allowed to ship to the People’s Republic of China.
Reverse engineering a machine containing more than 100,000 parts is a difficult task that requires hundreds of engineers with relevant knowledge, which is why the secretive Chinese government-led entity hired not only former engineers from ASML China, but also former employees of the Dutch company from elsewhere, possibly from Europe, Taiwan and the United States. EUV-related patents took only 18 months. However, this may mean that he draws on his experience and knowledge rather than trying to replicate what he did at ASML, or reverse engineering what he did at ASML since there is no EUV scanner in the lab.
“It makes sense that companies would want to copy our technology, but doing so is never easy,” said a statement from ASML. Reuters read.
According to the report, about 100 recent university graduates are tasked with reverse engineering parts for EUV and DUV lithography tools. Each worksite is monitored by dedicated cameras to record the disassembly and reassembly process, which is an important part of the entire China lithography program. Employees who successfully put the components back together will receive bonuses. Again, the Twinscan NXE tool is a mechanism made up of over 100,000 parts working together, not just the sum of them all.
All told, China has reportedly built a secret EUV lithography system prototype and begun testing it, suggesting the country may be closer to replicating the most advanced chip manufacturing technology available than previously thought. However, the details provided by the report indicate that China is still years or even ten years away from using EUV lithography to manufacture chips.
Image source: ASML
The machine can produce 13.5 nm EUV light using the same laser-produced plasma (LPP) method used by ASML, which may demonstrate extensive reverse engineering of Western technology rather than using alternative domestic methods. However, the tool was much larger than the commercial systems available today, it was unable to produce usable chips, and seemed to conflict with other elements of EUV lithography (especially the ultra-precision optics supplied to ASML by Carl Zeiss). In fact, details about the system such as light source power, optical subsystem maturity, and the status of key mechanical components remain unclear.
While China expects the first EUV chip prototype to be available in 2028, Reuters sources say 2030 is more realistic. However, the entire effort relies heavily on recruiting ex-ASML engineers and reverse-engineering parts from existing EUV and DUV tools, which are not only difficult to develop but also extremely difficult to manufacture. In the meantime, there’s no word yet on whether the teams currently tasked with disassembling and reassembling components can actually get an ultra-complex machine made up of more than 100,000 parts to work perfectly to produce semiconductors in high volumes.
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