Huawei Patents EUV Lithography Tools Used to Make 10nm Chips
upstart writes:
Another step towards technological self-sufficiency:
Huawei has patented one component used in EUV lithography systems that is required to make high-end processors on sub-10 nm nodes. It solves the problem of interference patterns created by the ultraviolet light that would otherwise make the wafer uneven.
[...] EUV lithography systems are currently made exclusively by Dutch company ASML. EUV lithography relies on the same principles as older forms of lithography but uses light with a wavelength of about 13.5 nm, which is almost an X-ray. ASML generates the ultraviolet light from fast-moving droplets of molten tin that are about 25 microns in diameter.
[...] ASML needed more than 6 billion and 17 years to develop the first batch of EUV lithography machines that could be sold. But before they were finished, the US government pressured the Dutch government into banning exports to China, restricting the nation to the older DUV (deep ultraviolet) technology. [...]
Chinese companies like Huawei were previously able to send their designs to fabs like TSMC for manufacture with EUV lithography. But since the US imposed sanctions on China that has been decreasingly possible. Huawei needs access to the advanced nodes that use EUV lithography to continue to improve on its custom processors, which target everything from smartphones to data centers. It has a long way to go before it can make its own EUV systems but they are receiving plenty of capital and support from the government to get there.
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.