Zeiss executive: China still 15 years from developing advanced chipmaking equipment
The head of German company Zeiss's semiconductor division estimates China will need about 15 years to develop its own EUV lithography systems for making cutting-edge chips, a timeline that aligns with a recent UBS analyst report.
Frank Romund, head of the semiconductor division at Germany's Zeiss Group, said on Bloomberg TV that China will need roughly 15 years to develop its own extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems capable of producing the most advanced microchips.
Romund described the fifteen-year estimate as a "reasonable assumption," while acknowledging that the actual pace of Beijing's progress is difficult to gauge. Zeiss is the exclusive optics supplier for the EUV systems built by Dutch company ASML Holding NV, which remains the world's only manufacturer of such equipment. This technology is essential for producing chips used in artificial intelligence accelerators.
Progress in DUV technology
Romund noted that China has spent decades working on deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems and has achieved some success in that area. He said this progress was not really surprising, and that the industry now needs to see how capable this equipment actually proves to be. Still, he added that Zeiss and ASML remain far ahead technologically.
Zeiss components are currently used in the production of about 80% of the world's microchips. To meet growing global demand, the company has expanded its headquarters in Oberkochen, Germany, and increased its production capacity.
Export restrictions tighten
Romund's assessment came after Swiss bank UBS published an analyst report concluding that China would likely need at least another decade to develop its own EUV technology.
Chip manufacturing technology has become a central target of US sanctions policy, as Washington seeks to limit China's ability to produce the most advanced chips used for training cutting-edge artificial intelligence models. In 2018-2019, the Dutch government, under US pressure, blocked the export of ASML's advanced EUV systems to China. In October 2022, the United States tightened pressure further by banning all Chinese logic chip manufacturers from accessing leading-edge equipment. In late 2023 and early 2024, export restrictions expanded again, with the Netherlands barring ASML from supplying China even with some of its less advanced DUV-based equipment.
