A newly revealed patent from Chinese lithography systems maker Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (SMEE) shows how domestic firms could progress in the local advanced lithography tools market despite US sanctions.
The “extreme ultraviolet [EUV] radiation generators and lithography equipment” patent, filed in March 2023, was published publicly on Tuesday and is still being vetted by the China National Intellectual Property Administration, according to a record from company registry website Qichacha.
The patent shows how SMEE is progressing in EUV lithography, which is considered the Achilles’ heel of the Chinese semiconductor industry. Despite years of efforts, SMEE remains behind ASML in reliably mass producing lithography gear that can be used for processes at the 28-nanometre level and below.
Netherlands-based ASML currently has a near monopoly on EUV machines, and it has been restricted from exporting that equipment to China since 2019.
SMEE was added to a US Commerce Department blacklist in December 2022, along with 35 other Chinese companies, which also restricted its ability to import certain US technologies.
