However, SMIC shattered this notion by employing an older but innovative technique: Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) lithography combined with the intricate process of Self-Aligned Quadruple Patterning (SAQP).

China’s SMIC has reportedly produced 5nm chips without EUV using DUV and SAQP, signaling a bold shift in chipmaking amid global tech restrictions.

Former Intel executive William Huo highlights China's breakthrough in producing 5nm chips without EUV technology, sparking concerns from Chamath Palihapitiya that the U.S. risks losing its ...

Huawei's SAQP technique can achieve 5nm-equivalent transistor density using DUV tools, though it's costly and suffers from low yields.

SiCarrier unveiled new 5nm-capable semiconductor tools at SEMICON China 2025, claiming they can manufacture chips without ASML's EUV lithography by using deep ultraviolet (DUV) and non-optical ...

They add that the equipment is based on a laser discharge induced plasma (LDP) to produce light of 13.5nm wavelength. These reports are not confirmed. China is spending a lot of money to develop EUV ...

DUV works, but to hit 5nm, it requires a ton of additional patterning steps. That makes everything slower, more expensive, and much harder to produce.

Until recently, ASML was still permitted to sell DUV systems like the Twinscan NXT:2000i. SMIC has modified these devices to produce 7nm chips, and some reports have claimed 5nm is possible.

News Release 25-Oct-2024 New DUV micro-LED array advances maskless photolithography Peer-Reviewed Publication University of Science and Technology of China image: ...

A Huawei patent has raised questions about how far it can push existing DUV chip-making equipment using a technique to help it advance despite US sanctions Huawei’s 7-nm chips in its Mate 60 and ...

The article said that 7nm-class process technology features 36 to 38nm metal pitches while 5nm-class nodes have metal pitches of 30 to 32nm. It said metal pitches for 3nm chips will be about 21 to ...