Huawei emerges as potential ASML competitor

A buzz is building online around claims that Huawei is testing a domestically developed EUV (extreme ultraviolet) light source — a critical component for advanced chipmaking — using laser-induced discharge plasma (LDP). This method, once explored and ultimately abandoned by ASML, may be getting a second life in China.

LDP creates what’s called a Z-pinch plasma — essentially a controlled miniature lightning bolt across vaporized tin — to generate the 13.5 nm light needed for EUV lithography. Though it promised better efficiency and fewer technical risks than ASML’s laser-produced plasma (LPP), LDP struggled with scaling: its plasma wasn’t bright enough, it overheated key parts, and it scattered damaging debris. ASML ultimately chose LPP for its production tools, but not without first testing LDP in its early alpha machines.

So why is Huawei reportedly revisiting it now? For one, China has time, money, and urgency. It’s spent over a decade researching alternatives to Western-controlled EUV tools, and engineers now have the benefit of working backward from a proven system. Even if early machines are inefficient or underpowered, the symbolic value of a working domestic EUV system is immense.

This isn’t just about matching ASML’s power output. It’s about proving that China can build its own complete system for advanced chipmaking — a move that could insulate it from sanctions and redefine the strategic map of semiconductors. The machines may be messy at first, but innovation under pressure often produces unexpected breakthroughs. ASML, and the broader industry, should be watching — not because China has caught up, but because it’s clearly in motion.



Source: Asianometry



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