ASML optical supplier agrees Chinese EUV wafer manufacturing equipment will take at least 15 years to be ready

Import substitution efforts by Chinese semiconductor component production equipment manufacturers have attracted attention from Western experts, who regularly assess the size of Chinese developers’ backlogs. German optical component manufacturer Zeiss Group said it may take Chinese developers 15 years to master EUV lithography technology.

Image source: ASML

Let’s remember that EUV means lithography equipment with ultraviolet radiation capable of producing 7nm and beyond wafers. Due to export restrictions in the United States and the Netherlands, finished equipment from such Western origins cannot be supplied to China, so to overcome technical barriers, Chinese manufacturers must develop their own equipment. Frank Rohmund, Director of Semiconductor Business of Zeiss Group, was interviewed by a TV channel Bloomberg said it believed it was a reasonable assumption that it would take 15 years for Chinese developers to build EUV equipment. However, he added that it is difficult to accurately assess the extent of their progress.

Let’s recall that UBS analysts recently estimated a 15-year gap between Chinese EUV equipment developers and Western competitors. So far, Dutch ASML remains the only lithography scanner manufacturer in the world capable of using ultra-hard ultraviolet radiation (EUV), for which Germany’s Zeiss Group supplies optical components. Previous-generation ASML devices (DUVs) are supplied to China with almost no restrictions, except for the most advanced models, which require an export license from the United States. Lomond said that further tightening the ban on the supply of DUV equipment from China would not only harm the core business of European manufacturers, but also stimulate China’s activities in the field of import substitution. Zeiss Group representatives stated that Chinese industry has been engaged in manufacturing such equipment for decades: “It’s not surprising at all, now we need to see what these tools are capable of. We’re still way ahead of them.”. ZEISS optics power 80% of the world’s chips.