System Integration and Test Engineer

Mistral is set to announce a €3bn Series D round led by Samsung, with participation from Nvidia, ASML and the European Union’s Scaleup Fund

China trails ASML's advanced EUV chip making technology by 10 years, says investment bank UBS as progress is stuck at ASML's 2004 level. Ramish Zafar - Sep 2, 2026 at 04:26pm EDT China is unlikely to match Dutch chip manufacturing ASML's EUV machines for ten years, suggests a new report from investment bank UBS. EUV lithography scanners are a key link in the global advanced chip manufacturing industry, and without them, making the latest chips is complicated and costly. US restrictions on China prevent the country's major chip manufacturers from acquiring the EUV machines, and UBS outlines that China can overcome the gap for older immersion-based DUV lithography much sooner than it can for EUV technology. Chinese EUV chip manufacturing technology development is similar to ASML's in 2004, says UBS. Back in 2003 and 2004, ASML was conducting functional and vacuum testing for its EUV tools in order to reduce production risks for 45-nanometer and more advanced nodes. During the same time period, advanced mirrors capable of working with 13.5 nm wavelengths were being developed, and since traditional light sources were limited to working with EUV, ASML was also working to develop laser and plasma technologies. Now, ASML is focused on developing high-NA EUV lithography systems, which use mirrors and optics with high numerical aperture mirrors to increase focus and sharpness. Both these systems mark a significant upgrade over traditional DUV systems that initially relied on air and then ultra-pure water for certain phases of the lithography process. Now, a fresh report from investment bank UBS claims that when it comes to EUV development, China's progress is similar to where ASML was in 2004. Consequently, the bank believes that the Asian country will be unable to achieve parity with ASML in EUV over the next ten years. The bank notes that ASML continues to depend heavily on China for its sales, with 33% of the firm's 2025 sales coming from the country to mark a significant jump over the 10% before 2020. The conclusion regarding EUV progress is based on patents, according to the investment bank. The two firms that UBS believes are important when it comes to manufacturing equipment are the state-backed Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (SMEE) and startup Shanghai Yuliangsheng Technology Co., Ltd. However, instead of EUV, these firms need to be watched for deep ultraviolet (DUV) development, says UBS. The bank adds that as opposed to EUV, China can catch up to ASML in immersion DUV lithography within two to five years. Immersion lithography, also called wet lithography, uses a layer of ultra-pure water to reduce the light's wavelength and increase resolution and depth of focus. Yet, despite the advances, the country will continue to rely on ASML due to differences in yield and throughput, believes UBS. However, the bank models its bear case for ASML on new restrictions on DUV sales to China and adds that it expects China to represent 15% to 20% of ASML's sales in 2027. About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage. Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of its news coverage in your feeds.

2026-09-01 10:15 Economic Daily News / Reporter Yin Huizhong / Taipei Real-time Report ASML released the latest information at the SEMICON Taiwan 2026 Advanced Semiconductor Process Technology Forum, mentioning that High NA EUV is accelerating toward the high-volume manufacturing (HVM) stage. Globally, the cumulative number of wafers exposed by EXE systems has exceeded 1.35 million. As customer usage continues to increase, system learning and high-volume production preparation are further accelerated. Globally, 10 High NA EUV systems installed at 4 customers are already in operation, while 3 additional systems are being shipped or installed. ASML noted that the certified EXE:5200B has achieved 135 wafers per hour (WPH) in acceptance testing, with productivity that supports high-volume manufacturing. High NA systems demonstrate excellent machine-to-machine overlay and focus performance, maintaining stable system performance to meet mass-production environment requirements. The global High NA EUV fleet availability has now risen to 84%, with continued improvement toward the 93% target. ASML is incorporating experience accumulated from the existing NXE platform into the EXE system, including improving diagnostic capabilities and preventing recurring issues to enhance system stability. High NA EUV has entered the practical application stage in advanced processes. High NA EUV has achieved an important milestone, being applied for the first time to high-volume logic products. High NA is seen as the next important lithography technology milestone in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, supporting future process scaling. For 2D DRAM scaling, High NA EUV imaging capability can support technology extensions for up to five future process nodes. 0.55 NA single exposure can further improve process economics. Combined with related key technologies, High NA EUV can increase the number of process layers using 0.55 NA single-exposure patterning. By replacing more complex multiple-patterning lithography processes with single exposure, High NA EUV helps reduce the complexity and cost of advanced processes. High NA EUV single-exposure imaging supports continued scaling to smaller pitches, balancing process capability and cost-effectiveness at advanced nodes. High NA continues to improve focus control and half-field challenges. EXE further enhances focus control, maintaining focus performance comparable to NXE. Through wafer leveling algorithms, focus correction, and a 148 mm wafer chuck design, the expected focus tolerance can reach more than 30 nm. For half-field design requirements, High NA EUV provides application flexibility through a 175 μm stitching compensation area. In DRAM applications, only chips with specific odd-row designs require stitching. High NA brings new chip design opportunities. High NA EUV not only improves lithography resolution but also opens new design space for 2D chip layout. Higher resolution enhances logic cell density, further supporting logic process scaling. High NA can also help optimize interconnect routing, potentially reducing the total number of metal layers required. EXE system productivity will continue to improve. ASML will continue to enhance the EXE platform's throughput performance, progressing from the EXE:5200B to the next-generation EXE:5400E. Productivity improvements will come from multiple enhancements, including: improving EUV light source efficiency, improving wafer handling efficiency with PEP-related solutions, and reducing unnecessary losses and inefficiencies during system operation. ASML's technology roadmap aims to increase acceptance-test throughput from the current 135 wafers per hour to 180 wafers per hour by the end of this decade. Related technology development includes increasing EUV light source power at the wafer level and accelerating wafer and reticle handling speeds. ASML has established a 0.55 NA EUV technology roadmap to support future process development with a long-term stable platform architecture. The High NA EUV platform is expected to provide a stable system architecture for more than 10 years, continuously extending system capabilities through productivity improvements. Combining higher resolution, single-exposure imaging, continuously improving productivity, and design flexibility, High NA EUV will continue to support long-term scaling needs in advanced semiconductor manufacturing.