In the field of chip manufacturing, lithography technology plays a vital role, and Dutch company ASML is currently the only manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment in the world. White House Artificial Intelligence and Encryption Affairs Supervisor David Sacks stated on Friday (May 23) that restricting the sale of EUV equipment to China is the United States’ “most critical export control” in the semiconductor sector.
This restriction, implemented by the Trump administration and continued by the current administration, is deemed essential according to Sacks. ASML’s EUV lithography machines are crucial equipment for producing the most advanced chips globally, utilizing light beams to create chip circuits. The high-end chips produced by these lithography machines are used in various applications ranging from electric vehicles to military equipment.
The first generation of ASML’s EUV systems is currently utilized in manufacturing a majority of smartphones and artificial intelligence chips. These systems use extreme ultraviolet light to create design features with resolutions as low as 13 nanometers, smaller than a virus.
The U.S. government, in collaboration with allies such as Japan and the Netherlands, has been making efforts to ensure that these machines do not fall into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Officials from the United States have expressed their desire to limit the CCP’s advancement in manufacturing advanced semiconductors, as such technology is critical for the CCP’s military modernization efforts. The CCP has persisted in its ambition to reunify Taiwan by force.
The United States aims to prevent a potential CCP attack on Taiwan, as Taiwan holds a crucial position in the global supply chain. A conflict in the Taiwan Strait would pose a disaster for the world economy.
White House officials argue that these restrictive measures are necessary to impede the CCP from developing its military capabilities, creating new and advanced weapon systems, and further enhancing its surveillance networks. The CCP’s surveillance network is already one of the most sophisticated networks globally.
In 1996, the United States led dozens of Western countries to sign the Wassenaar Arrangement, which imposed restrictions on the export of high-end technology to China. The Netherlands is also a signatory to this agreement. Under pressure from the United States, since 2019 (during Trump’s first term), ASML’s exports of EUV equipment to China have not received approval from Dutch authorities. These restrictions will further tighten ASML’s sales to China.
The components of EUV lithography machines mostly come from the signatory countries of the Wassenaar Arrangement, giving the United States the ability to intervene at any point to prevent transactions from being completed. It would be immensely challenging for the CCP to bypass all signatory countries and import EUV lithography machines.
In December last year, ASML’s CEO Christophe Fouquet stated in an interview with the Dutch newspaper “NRC Handelsblad” that due to Chinese companies’ inability to obtain cutting-edge EUV lithography tools, the CCP’s chip manufacturing technology lags behind industry giants like Intel, TSMC, and Samsung by 10 to 15 years. Even with top-tier DUV tools, Chinese chip manufacturers such as SMIC cannot match TSMC’s process technology in an economically efficient manner.
“By prohibiting the export of EUV, China’s (CCP’s chip technology) will lag behind the West by 10 to 15 years,” Fouquet said. “This indeed has an impact.”