The Triple Alliance restricts lithography machinesCanon develops new technologies
In recent years, the United States has adopted a series of restrictive measures in order to curb China's scientific and technological development. Among them, the formation of a three-nation alliance restricts the export of key semiconductor equipment such as lithography machines to China, which has a huge impact on China's chip industry.
Specifically, the United States, together with Japan and the Netherlands, two major lithography machine manufacturing powerhouses, signed an agreement to strictly restrict the sale of state-of-the-art lithography machines to Chinese companies. Among them, the Dutch company ASML almost monopolizes the world's advanced lithography machine market, while Japan's Canon and Nikon also have a place in this field. The cooperation of the three countries has directly led to the difficulty of China to make a breakthrough in lithography machines.
In particular, the Dutch ASML has a 95% market share in recent years, and Chinese companies are completely dependent on imports. Under the restrictions of the Triple Alliance, it is becoming less and less likely that Chinese companies will be approved to import such equipment, which has brought a huge dilemma to China's chip manufacturing.
In this context, the new nanoimprint technology developed by Canon of Japan has attracted widespread attention. The technology is believed to be expected to replace lithography machines as a key piece of equipment for next-generation chip manufacturing. With this technology alone, chip manufacturing with 5nm process can be achieved without relying on extreme ultraviolet lithography machines imported from the Netherlands. This provides hope for China to break through the dependence on lithography machine technology.
However, Canon's move also came as a surprise to the industry. Just as the technology was unveiled, Canon said it would restrict the export of the device. This has undoubtedly brought greater challenges to China, and has also dashed the industry's expectations for breaking the dependence on lithography machine technology.
Canon has taken the initiative to restrict exportsStay ahead of the curve
Faced with Canon's sudden decision to impose export restrictions, the industry could not help but be surprised. But on closer inspection, this move actually hides Canon's consideration to maintain its leading position.
We should see that Canon has long been in competition with ASML, and they are both vying for dominance in the field of lithography machines. In particular, ASML's dominant position in EUV lithography machines has always been unshakable by Canon. The newly developed nanoimprint technology provides an important breakthrough. If the technology is commercialized, Canon is expected to surpass ASML as a leader in next-generation lithography equipment. This is of key strategic importance for Canon to maintain its dominant position in the field of lithography machines.
Canon also doesn't want this new technology to be acquired by competitors. If the new technology leaks out, ASML and Nikon are also likely to reverse engineer in the short term, compressing Canon's lead. Restricting the export of new technologies can protect Canon's technical barriers to the greatest extent. From a commercial point of view, Canon's export restrictions are also conducive to maintaining high royalty income. If exports are liberalized, the number of companies using the technology will increase significantly, reducing the gains that Canon will receive from it. Export restrictions can prevent this from happening.
To sum up, Canon's initiative to restrict the export of new technologies is to maintain its leading edge in the field of lithography machines, prevent the leakage of key technologies, and maintain high patent revenue. This is in Canon's commercial interests and beneficial to its long-term development in the field of lithography machines.
China needs to accelerate innovationPush the limits of lithography machines
In the face of a new round of restrictions from Canon, China's semiconductor industry is at a crossroads. In order to break through the current predicament, it is necessary to speed up independent innovation and strive to achieve technological breakthroughs in key links such as lithography machines.
China needs to increase its independent research and development of cutting-edge semiconductor technologies. In the field of lithography machine, a high-level R&D team can be set up, learn from foreign advanced technology Xi, and strive to achieve industrialization as soon as possible. At the same time, we should also pay attention to the introduction of overseas high-end talents to provide intellectual support for research and development. Consider market-based access to technology. For example, through joint ventures and cooperation, we will introduce lithography equipment and learn Xi foreign advanced technology and management experience. It is also possible to absorb the transformation of foreign lithography technology achievements through industry-university-research cooperation.
Increasing in-house manufacturing capabilities is key. In the manufacturing of lithography machines and other equipment, Chinese enterprises still have constraints, and they need to improve their precision machining and system integration capabilities through continuous investment and training. It is also necessary to pay attention to cultivating compound talents to provide a solid foundation for equipment manufacturing. It is necessary to strengthen the ecological construction of independent innovation. Whether in terms of policy or financial support, it is necessary to create a good environment for semiconductor enterprises to innovate. At the same time, it is also necessary to strengthen the cooperation of the industrial chain and form an innovative linkage from upstream to downstream.
It can be seen that China is still facing a long-term process of efforts to break through the dependence on lithography machine technology. However, as long as we persevere and focus on the main attack, we will be able to achieve a phased breakthrough. This is not only related to the future of China's chip industry, but also crucial. 100 help plan