China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) is trialing a homegrown lithography system, as an alternative to ASML's technology.
In a significant development, Chinese company Yuliangsheng Technology is creating lithography systems to advance China's semiconductor industry. The company's prototype immersion DUV lithography machines are currently being tested by the Chinese semiconductor manufacturer SMIC.
While Yuliangsheng's systems do not yet offer full EUV technology, they are designed to cater to chips with feature sizes ranging from 28 to 7 nanometers. This development could potentially replace the currently used lithography systems of the Dutch market leader ASML, though this potential replacement is not explicitly mentioned in this context.
Alignment accuracy is crucial in multiple exposures, and ASML prides itself on aligning wafers within its lithography systems to within a few atoms. However, Yuliangsheng's systems, at this stage, are not yet able to use purely Chinese components; some parts still come from abroad.
The semiconductor manufacturers SMIC and possibly Huawei can produce 7-nm chips, but with a relatively high defect rate due to complex multiple exposures. This is an area where Yuliangsheng's systems might provide an improvement, as they can handle the intricacies of multiple exposures more effectively.
Interestingly, ASML is not allowed to sell its EUV systems to China due to export restrictions. This restriction has prompted Chinese manufacturers to seek alternatives, leading to the development of Yuliangsheng's lithography systems.
The liquid used in immersion lithography, such as ultrapure water, refracts the light and ideally improves the resolution. This technology is employed by Yuliangsheng in their systems.
The next step in the advancement of lithography technology is the transition to high numerical aperture EUV exposure (High-NA EUV), which achieves higher resolution through a steeper angle. This technology is not yet implemented in Yuliangsheng's systems, but it is the goal for future developments.
It is unclear how well Yuliangsheng's lithography systems function, how high the alignment accuracy is, and how quickly they process wafers. Furthermore, it may still take years until the fully validated series production is ready, so SMIC and other Chinese chip manufacturers are likely to continue using ASML systems for the time being. ASML is still allowed to sell older DUV types to China.
The Financial Times reports that SMIC is currently testing a Yuliangsheng prototype. The details about Yuliangsheng's lithography systems' functionality, alignment accuracy, and wafer processing speed are not yet publicly disclosed.
Despite these uncertainties, the development of Yuliangsheng's lithography systems represents a significant step forward for China's semiconductor industry, as it seeks to reduce its reliance on foreign technology and advance its capabilities in chip manufacturing.
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