• From Copycat to Innovator

    From ltlee1@21:1/5 to All on Mon Mar 24 10:56:01 2025
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    A homegrown version of the extreme ultra-violet lithography system
    needed to produce the most advanced chips is on trial at a Huawei
    facility, say reports.
    Picture of Iain Morris
    Iain Morris, International Editor

    March 14, 2025

    ..
    According to various reports that seem to have originated in China, an
    EUV system called laser-induced discharge plasma (LDP) technology has
    been going through tests at a Huawei facility in Dongguan. One report
    says it has been able to generate the 13.5-nanometer wavelength by
    "vaporizing tin between electrodes and converting it to plasma via
    high-voltage discharge, where electron-ion collisions produce the
    required wavelength."

    ASML has relied on an alternative EUV technique called laser-produced
    plasma (LPP), which seems to involve the use of higher-energy lasers
    than LDP needs. "It's a pretty cool technique because it's actually
    simpler than what ASML does," said Earl Lum, a chips expert and the
    founder of EJL Wireless Research. "It could be cheaper to make the
    machine because of the strategy that ASML had to use."

    Trials do not mean a Chinese flavor of EUV is close to commercial
    deployment, of course, and a few press reports that leave many questions unanswered must be treated with a generous dose of skepticism. ASML's
    share price fell 7% on March 10, days after the reports about China's
    apparent EUV breakthrough. But this may have been linked to more general concerns about tariffs and their economic impact. Other chip stocks also suffered.

    Even so, the idea that ASML has an unassailable position in EUV looks increasingly suspect and hubristic. The claims made about DeepSeek, a
    Chinese AI model supposedly much more efficient than OpenAI and other
    western fare, have been taken seriously by various technical experts
    outside China, including some chief technology officers who attended
    this month's Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. If China can
    potentially beat the US in AI software, why not in other areas, too?"

    From copycat to innovator

    Huawei, which declined to comment on the reports about EUV testing in
    Dongguan, was subject to the same western contempt when it first entered
    the market for mobile basestation products. Initially, it was derided as
    a copycat and thief of US intellectual property, selling products that
    mimicked those of European and US rivals at knockdown prices. By the
    time 5G was launched, it was recognized as an innovator by the chief
    technology officers of European telcos buying its products. Huawei had
    in the space of two mobile generations apparently overtaken Ericsson on
    product quality – boasting the industry's best metrics for the weight, performance and energy efficiency of its most advanced 5G radios.
    ..

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