China's Domestic DUV Lithography Machines Enter Mass Production, Targeting Five Deliveries This Year
Alina Collins
A Shanghai-based, state-backed company has begun mass-producing immersion DUV lithography systems, with five units slated for delivery this year to Chinese foundries including SMIC — a milestone for domestic chip-equipment substitution, though the gap with ASML's 131 units shipped last year remains enormous.
Who built it, and who gets the machines?
According to *The Information*, the company consolidated immersion DUV R&D teams from multiple Chinese firms, including state-backed startup Shanghai Yuliang Shengke.
Sources declined to name the company, citing the sensitivity of China's lithography programs.
The first units are earmarked for SMIC, Hua Hong Semiconductor, and CXMT — covering both logic and memory chip production.
How much capacity does this actually add?
The plan: roughly five units this year, scaling to about twenty by 2027.
For comparison, ASML shipped 131 immersion DUV systems last year. This means → domestic output currently sits below 4% of ASML's volume — nowhere near import substitution.
In plain terms = this is a "prove the production line works" phase, not a real supply ramp.
Are the machines good enough?
Sources say the domestic DUV still lags ASML on precision, reliability, and equipment compatibility.
Months of additional testing may be needed before the machines enter volume production lines.
Domestic supplier delivery delays have already disrupted this year's schedule. This means → the bottleneck extends beyond the lithography tool itself — the entire domestic supply chain is still maturing.
Can the parts be fully sourced at home?
The machine uses mostly domestic components, but some critical parts still come from Japan.
Immersion DUV — a lithography method that uses a liquid medium to boost optical resolution — has traditionally relied on a global network of specialist suppliers. Full localization remains a challenge.
This reflects a hard reality: even with final assembly on Chinese soil, chokepoint components are not yet fully secured.
Will export controls tighten further?
Current U.S. restrictions already bar China from buying ASML's EUV lithography systems — the most advanced tools that etch chip circuits with extreme-ultraviolet light — forcing reliance on ASML's older immersion DUV equipment.
The bipartisan MATCH Act now before Congress would further restrict immersion DUV exports and limit maintenance services for certain Chinese fabs.
This means → if the bill passes, China could lose access even to ASML's legacy DUV tools, making the domestic alternative even more urgent.
What does this mean for ASML and the global chip supply chain?
Sources see limited immediate threat to ASML, but sustained domestic output growth — especially if Western restrictions tighten — could gradually erode its China market share.
Early use cases for the domestic DUV include expanding mature-node chip capacity, such as power-management chips for AI servers — not cutting-edge, but a shortage would still bottleneck entire computing-system buildouts.
In plain terms = the real question is not whether China's lithography can catch the frontier, but whether it can reliably mass-produce "good enough" chips and reduce dependence on imported equipment.
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