Chinese startup Langdao Silex has unveiled an EUV light source prototype, built with 90 per cent domestic content, while acknowledging that steep engineering hurdles remain.
According to TrendForce, staff at the China International Industry Fair put large-scale commercial production three to five years away. That gives the announcement a somewhat longer fuse than the inevitable declarations that ASML should start packing its desk.
The FlintNano LPP-OXXO uses laser-produced plasma technology, with published specifications claiming EUV output exceeding 15W and continuous operation beyond 100 hours.
Its driving laser is rated at 1,000W, a separate specification that should spare headline writers any confusion with usable EUV output.
TrendForce reports that commercial EUV sources typically require several hundred watts alongside sustained reliability, leaving considerable work on power and stability.
Producing EUV light is one stage of development, while keeping a production line supplied with it demands far more. The claimed domestic content figure applies to the light source, giving no basis for declaring an entire Chinese EUV scanner 90 per cent complete.
Precision optics, wafer stages and integration remain further challenges in assembling a working lithography system capable of commercial production.
ASML’s obituary can remain in the same drawer as other premature announcements of its imminent replacement.
Langdao Silex’s low-power series has reportedly reached the productisation stage, while its high-power series has completed proof-of-principle validation.
