The lithography technology for chips below 7 nanometers has been patented! Foreign media: Chinese Mainland is catching up

The lithography technology for chips below 7 nanometers has been patented! Foreign media: Chinese Mainland is catching up

China Mainland is narrowing the gap with the West in the field of advanced chip manufacturing. According to foreign media reports, Shanghai MICroelectronic Equipment Group Co., Ltd. recently announced a series of patents for key capabilities in manufacturing chips below 7 nanometers. This news has also attracted the attention of overseas professional media such as Germany, saying that the mainland is catching up in the field of chips.

According to reports from online media, including Smart News, the China National Intellectual Property Administration recently disclosed an invention patent titled "Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation Generating Device and Lithography Equipment". The patent covers an EUV generating device and lithography equipment, and the applicant is Shanghai Microelectronics Equipment Group Co., Ltd.

EUV lithography technology is an advanced chip manufacturing technology that can draw extremely fine circuits on semiconductor wafers to produce smaller and more poweRFul chips. This technology uses extreme ultraviolet light EUV as a light source, which can achieve higher accuracy than traditional lithography technology. Possessing EUV lithography technology patents means that the key ability to manufacture chips below 7 nanometers is mastered.

According to relevant reports, the patents disclosed by Shanghai Microelectronics mainly involve EUV light sources and lithography equipment. The key EUV radiation generator light sources mainly include critical components such as cavities, target generators, laser generators, collection mirrors, electrode plates, and pneumatic control parts.

This news also attracted the attention of German technology and political media Telepolis. The media recently reported that Chinese Mainland is catching up in the chip field.

The report believes that China's technological progress is almost unstoppable. 99% of the market share of China's lithography equipment is controlled by AMSL of the Netherlands and Nikon and Canon of Japan. Only Esmol produces equipment for manufacturing chips with a size of less than 7 nanometers. However, Esmol is facing pressure in providing services to customers in Chinese Mainland, which is its second largest market after Taiwan.

According to the 2023 annual report, Esmol can only meet 50% of the orders in Chinese Mainland. According to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, since September 6, EiSIMo has been required to obtain a Dutch license to provide parts, software updates, and system maintenance in Chinese Mainland. Previously, an export license was required in the United States.

According to the Chinese media, the Kirin 9000 processor used in Huawei's latest Mate XT three-fold screen mobile phone, a communication equipment company in Chinese Mainland, is made based on 5-nanometer technology. This also shows that despite the international sanctions, the land enterprises still have the ability to produce advanced chips below 7 nanometers.

But at the same time, some analysts believe that Huawei and its partners have found a way to circumvent the export control of chip equipment. There is no overwhelming evidence that Huawei has a fully local supply chain for these key technologies.