In a high-security laboratory in Shenzhen, China has achieved a milestone that has eluded Western efforts for years: the creation of a prototype machine capable of producing next-generation semiconductor chips, the backbone of artificial intelligence, advanced smartphones, and critical military technology.
Completed in early 2025, the prototype spans nearly an entire factory floor and represents the culmination of years of reverse engineering by a team of former engineers from a leading Dutch semiconductor firm. These engineers successfully replicated extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology—machines that use beams of extreme ultraviolet light to etch circuits thousands of times thinner than a human hair onto silicon wafers, a process previously monopolized by Western companies. The finer the circuits, the more powerful the resulting chips.
China’s prototype is operational and generating extreme ultraviolet light, though it has yet to produce fully functional chips. Still, its existence suggests China is accelerating toward semiconductor independence, potentially years ahead of prior analyst projections. The government aims for the prototype to produce working chips by 2028, though some experts consider 2030 a more realistic timeline—still significantly ahead of the decade-long horizon previously expected.
The development is part of a six-year, top-priority initiative to achieve semiconductor self-sufficiency, with the Shenzhen project conducted under strict secrecy. This effort involves coordination across research institutes and industrial networks, pooling technical expertise and state resources in what has been described as China’s own version of a Manhattan Project.
Until now, EUV technology has been the exclusive domain of a single Dutch manufacturer. Its machines, costing upwards of $250 million, are essential for producing the most advanced chips for global tech giants. Replicating such machinery represents an enormous technical challenge, particularly in manufacturing the precise optical systems required.
China has overcome some of these barriers by salvaging components from older machines and sourcing parts via secondary markets, combined with breakthroughs in domestic optical technologies. The prototype is larger and cruder than Western EUV systems but functional enough to test extreme ultraviolet light generation.
The machine uses lasers firing at molten tin at 50,000 times per second, generating plasma at temperatures exceeding 200,000°C. Mirrors and optical systems focus this energy with extreme precision, a process that has taken Chinese research institutes years to replicate. While the optics still require refinement, the prototype achieved operational status in early 2025.
This advancement represents a decisive step in China’s semiconductor strategy. By establishing a domestic capability to produce advanced chips, China aims to reduce reliance on Western technology and control its supply chains independently. Networks of domestic engineers continue to reverse-engineer components, improve fabrication processes, and push toward fully functional, China-made EUV machines.
The Shenzhen prototype demonstrates that China is no longer starting from scratch; the existence of commercial EUV technology abroad has accelerated its progress. While substantial challenges remain, this development signals that the global semiconductor landscape is poised for a shift, potentially altering the balance of technological power in the years ahead.
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