When ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet told investors that it would take China “many, many years” to build its own EUV machines, few in the West batted an eye. After all, ASML had been the undisputed king of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV), holding technological secrets that even the world’s second-largest economy seemed powerless to crack.
As published in South China Morning Post, within weeks after those confident remarks, a startling development from China suggests the semiconductor balance of power might be shifting faster than anyone in the Netherlands — or Washington — anticipated.
[Update] The Bigger Picture: Can China Actually Build a Complete EUV Machine?
Led by Lin Nan, a former ASML head of light source technology, Chinese researchers have unveiled a home-grown EUV light source platform operating at internationally competitive parameters. Lin, who once trained under 2023 Nobel Prize-winning physicist Anne L’Huillier, spearheaded this breakthrough at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics.
The Silent Return of a Mastermind
Lin Nan’s return to China in 2021, under an aggressive national recruitment drive, now looks like a strategic masterstroke. Rather than reinventing ASML’s complex CO₂ laser technology, Lin and his team focused on a more compact, efficient solid-state laser approach.
Their experimental platform achieved a 3.42% conversion efficiency — already outperforming major Western research centers like ETH Zurich and nearing half the performance of ASML’s commercial CO₂ laser-driven systems. In semiconductor terms, that’s no small feat.
Undermining the “Many, Many Years” Narrative
Fouquet’s dismissal of China’s EUV potential reflected a long-standing belief in Western tech circles: that replicating ASML’s two-decade technological head start was nearly impossible.
Yet Lin’s progress suggests otherwise. In fact, by avoiding the bulky inefficiencies of ASML’s CO₂ laser systems, China might be setting itself up to leapfrog into a next-generation EUV platform that is more sustainable, cost-effective, and scalable for future chip production.
Even more alarming for ASML? Lin’s team believes the platform’s theoretical maximum could reach a 6% efficiency — surpassing some commercial benchmarks.
Ironically, the technology transfer restrictions that were meant to cripple China’s semiconductor ambitions may have accelerated innovation.
Denied access to ASML’s machines since 2019 due to U.S. pressure, China had no choice but to invest in risky, disruptive alternatives. Lin Nan’s success shows that blocking knowledge flows doesn’t kill ambition — it sometimes forces it to evolve faster and smarter.
A Future No Longer Written in the Netherlands Alone
It’s too early to declare China a true EUV power. Building a complete, mass-production-capable photolithography machine requires far more than a light source. Precision optics, stage systems, and defect control are massive engineering challenges still ahead.
But the myth that China is “decades behind” has taken a serious hit. And the fact that a former ASML insider is leading the charge only adds salt to the wound.
The West might want to rethink how it measures time — because in the race for semiconductor supremacy, “many, many years” might turn out to be just a few.
While Lin Nan’s team has made significant progress, China’s biggest challenge lies ahead: building a complete EUV lithography ecosystem.
This means mastering everything from mirror optics to photoresists and stage alignment systems — areas still dominated by ASML and its global suppliers.
For a deeper dive into these missing components, read The Bigger Picture: Can China Actually Build a Complete EUV Machine?
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