The road to the research and development of China's lithography machine under the blockade of Western technology: challenges and breakthroughs
In recent years, the semiconductor industry has become the focus of the great power game. As one of the core links of semiconductor manufacturing, lithography machine technology has become the key for China to catch up with the international advanced level. In this competition for the future of the industry, China faces many challenges. Just recently, Wennink, CEO of ASML, the world's largest lithography machine manufacturer, once again expressed his views on the research and development prospects of China's lithography machines. He believes that it will be very difficult for China to independently develop a top-notch lithography machine in the short term. This point of view has once again triggered a heated discussion in the industry about the development of China's lithography machine technology.
ASML is the absolute leader in the global lithography machine market, especially in the field of EUV lithography machines required for advanced processes of 7nm and below. However, there is a big gap between China and international manufacturers represented by ASML in lithography machine technology, which has become one of the bottlenecks restricting the development of China's semiconductor industry. The reason why Wennink is cautious about the research and development prospects of China's lithography machine is mainly based on two considerations: one is China's shortcomings in continuous innovation ability, and the other is that China faces challenges in the integration of global supply chains. He pointed out that ASML's success did not happen overnight, but relied on years of continuous innovation and global operations. Although China has mastered the relevant physical principles, it will be difficult to catch up with ASML in these two aspects.
China has long attached importance to lithography machine technology. As early as 2002, the lithography machine has been included in the national major science and technology projects, and has invested a lot of resources in research and development over the years. Today, China has made some progress in the field of lithography machines. The commercialization of the 90nm lithography machine developed by Shanghai Microelectronics marks a key step in this field in China. However, at the same time, the 28nm lithography machine, which represents the mainstream of the next generation, is still in the research stage, and there is still a gap compared with the international advanced level. This shows that although China attaches great importance to lithography machine technology, it will still take time to make breakthroughs in core technologies due to factors such as weak foundation and lack of experience.
The reason why the research and development of lithography machines in China is difficult is mainly due to several major challenges. Lithography machine involves optics, machinery, electronics, materials, software and other disciplines, which is a complex system engineering, which requires the comprehensive ability of the R&D team to be extremely high. However, China has insufficient experience in this area, and there is a disconnect between basic research and industrial application, and there is a lack of experienced lithography machine system integration experts. The development of lithography machines requires the support of many special parts, which has high requirements for the supporting supply chain. However, for a long time, these core components have mainly relied on imports, and China's foundation in this field is relatively weak. As Western countries led by the United States continue to tighten technology export controls to China, it is more difficult for China to supply parts and components needed for the research and development of lithography machines, resulting in the hindrance of the research and development process.
It is worth noting that although the U.S.-led technological blockade has cast a shadow on China's lithography machine research and development, from another perspective, the crisis also breeds opportunities. As Wennink said, it is not entirely impossible for China to make a breakthrough in the field of lithography machines in the long run. At present, the West's technology control on China has forced China to accelerate independent innovation to a certain extent, which has stimulated China's development momentum in related fields. This could be a turning point in the development of lithography machine technology in China. In fact, China has realized the risk of core technologies being controlled by others, and has taken independence and controllability as the strategic direction of scientific and technological development. In this context, the state has further increased its support for key areas such as lithography machines, and all parties involved in production, education, research and application have worked together to achieve breakthroughs in "stuck neck" technology.
In the future, if China wants to make great progress in lithography machine technology, it needs to take a multi-pronged approach in several aspects. The first is to strengthen the top-level design, improve the industrial policy, and provide a good institutional environment for enterprise innovation; the second is to integrate domestic and foreign innovation resources, strengthen the collaborative innovation of production, education, research and application, and promote the transformation of basic research results into industrial application; the third is to vigorously develop the supporting industry of lithography machine, and improve the independent and controllable level of core components; the fourth is to strengthen the training and introduction of talents, and provide intellectual support for the research and development of lithography machines. Only with the joint efforts of the whole society can China win the initiative in this competition of key technologies.