Why ASML Chipmaking Tools Remain China’s Core Bottleneck Despite Reports of EUV Progress

Beijing can spark EUV light in the lab, but turning that into factory-ready lithography machines will still take China at least two more decades, experts said.

An undated Illustration shows the optical light path inside ASML's Twinscan NXE:3400B semiconductor lithography tool. ASML via Reuters

News Analysis

For weeks, Chinese state outlets have touted “major breakthroughs” in extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) lithography—the light-etching machines that make the world’s most advanced chips and the main choke point in Beijing’s semiconductor push.