China makes progress in 3-nm chips without advanced lithography tools

The breakthrough by the Chinese Academy of Sciences is far from mass production but shows China is tracking the road map of global leaders

Chinese researchers have made early strides in pushing semiconductor processing nodes below 3-nm using older lithography technology, as more advanced extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) tools from ASML remain blocked under US sanctions.

The breakthrough marks the latest progress in China’s drive to chart an alternative path to advanced chipmaking amid US export restrictions. Under current export control rules, Dutch equipment giant ASML is barred from selling its state-of-the-art EUV machines – essential for producing chips below the 7-nm node – to Chinese clients.

In the latest development, state-backed Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has established a preliminary gate-all-around (GAA) device development path using the less advanced deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography, Taiwanese media Digitimes reported on Thursday, citing a speech by Ye Tianchun, a veteran from the academy’s Institute of Microelectronics (IMECAS).

Ye said the institute had finished early integration for stacked nanosheet-channel GAA CMOS transistors using DUV tools. He described the result as a “new early-stage MOS transistor process path for China’s sub-3-nm advanced manufacturing”, according to the Digitimes article.