Dec 18, 2025 20:00:00

China has reportedly collaborated with a former ASML engineer to successfully reverse engineer an EUV lithography machine, suggesting that a prototype has already been completed and that domestic production of high-performance semiconductors is on the horizon.

The technology known as 'extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography' is essential for manufacturing today's high-performance semiconductors, and the only company in the world that manufactures the related equipment is ASML, a Dutch company. However, due to sanctions imposed by the Netherlands under pressure from the United States, ASML is prohibited from trading with China. This has caused a halt in the development of high-performance semiconductors in China, but it has now been reported that China has developed its own EUV lithography equipment.

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According to a Reuters report, China has reverse-engineered ASML's EUV equipment in a Shenzhen laboratory with the help of a former ASML engineering team and built its own prototype EUV equipment.

EUV lithography equipment uses extreme ultraviolet beams to etch circuits thousands of times thinner than a human hair onto silicon wafers. According to sources, the Chinese equipment is operational and has successfully emitted extreme ultraviolet light, but has not yet been able to produce functional semiconductors.

The EUV lithography equipment has several complex structures, and it is still unclear what technologies the Chinese engineers have adopted for the prototype, but the engineers are reportedly reusing parts from ASML's older equipment. The aim is to start producing practical semiconductors with the prototype by 2028 at the latest, but the person involved shared information that '2030 is a more realistic target.'

Officials described the project as a Chinese version of the

Manhattan Project . They said, 'The veteran Chinese engineers hired for the project were surprised to receive large contract payments along with ID cards issued under false names. The instructions were clear and the project was classified as a matter of national security. Former ASML engineers and scientists from China were also included.'

Two current Chinese ASML employees living in the Netherlands also told Reuters they had been contacted by Huawei recruiters since at least 2020.

ASML told Reuters it 'rigorously protects its trade secrets and confidential information,' and that it has in place internal procedures to protect knowledge of EUV technology, ensuring that only selected employees have access to the information.

Despite Western attempts to slow China's progress through export restrictions, China appears to be advancing technology faster than analysts expected. China is steadily gaining market share in low-performance semiconductors, commonly known as 'legacy chips,' and could gain market share in all semiconductors once it can mass-produce high-performance chips.

28% of the world's 'legacy chips' are expected to be made in China, expanding share with chips that are inferior to cutting-edge but in high demand - GIGAZINE