The EUV lithography machines are essential to producing modern chips. US blocking key chipmaking equipment , And the US has stopped China from acquiring them. Scientists who have contributed to the cutting-edge technology behind advanced semiconductors are divided on whether the United States should stop China from developing its own chips.
The US has blocked the sale of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) machines to the Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), China’s largest chip foundry. EUVL, which uses a powerful laser and a system of complex mirrors to etch integrated circuits on silicon wafers, is essential to producing modern chips, which go into everything – from cell phones and electric cars to next-generation fighter jets. key chipmaking equipment, The Netherlands-based ASML controls the entire EUVL market. SMIC had placed orders to purchase the machines, which cost $200 million a piece, but Washington blocked the delivery. China considers Taiwan an integral part of its territory. US President Joe Biden on September 19 said American forces will defend Taiwan if threatened by the Chinese military, heightening geopolitical tensions between the two largest economies.
“If you can make the best chips in the world, you can use them to make the best military hardware in the world,” says Professor Ruzic. In case of a potential conflict, the US wouldn’t want China to get hold of tools that can be utilised to build military applications, he says. Professor Ruzic works closely with ASML and has recently developed an efficient and cheaper way to clean plasma debris off the sensitive mirrors in EUVL machines – a headache for the industry. EUVL machines have been three decades in the making. Each one of them is the size of a bus and contains hundreds of thousands of components. key chipmaking equipment, The CO2 laser beam that can generate plasma 40 times hotter than the Sun’s surface is viewed by scientists as an engineering marvel. It is also a product of collaboration between researchers and academics from different countries. But most of the work took place in the US labs backed by American taxpayers’ money, says Vivek Bakshi, President of EUV Litho, a company that promotes industry cooperation.
Source: This news is originally published by trtworld