According to a report from Kuai Keji on September 3rd， the renowned American investment bank Goldman Sachs recently stated that China’s advanced chip manufacturing sector lags behind Western technology by approximately 20 years.
The investment bank’s analysis suggests that Chinese lithography companies are at least two decades behind their American counterparts. Lithography is a critical， albeit singular， bottleneck in the semiconductor manufacturing process hindering China’s ability to produce high-end chips. The most advanced lithography machines are manufactured by ASML， a Dutch company. However， due to its reliance on components originating from the United States， the U.S. government possesses the authority to restrict their sale to China.
Goldman Sachs’ perspective is that the sanctions imposed by the United States on SMIC， restricting its access to Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines for chip manufacturing， will force SMIC to rely on older processes. This will inevitably lead to higher costs for the production of 7nm chips.
This report has garnered significant attention， with the core reason cited for their assessment being China’s deficiency in manufacturing advanced lithography scanners. The production of these sophisticated machines necessitates components that are globally sourced， with a primary concentration in the United States and Europe. This global supply chain dependence is a key factor contributing to the technological gap.
Lithography is one of several crucial steps in the chip manufacturing process. It involves the transfer of chip designs from a photomask to a silicon wafer. High-end equipment， such as ASML’s EUV and High-NA EUV scanners， are capable of transferring smaller circuit patterns onto the wafer， thereby enhancing chip performance. Following pattern transfer， etching processes are employed to form the final layout， accompanied by deposition of other materials and wafer cleaning throughout the entire fabrication sequence.
Consequently， lithography technology is paramount for replicating fine circuit patterns on wafers， positioning lithography equipment as a critical bottleneck within the chip manufacturing pipeline. The sophisticated engineering and the intricate， specialized components required for these advanced systems represent a significant barrier to entry and development， highlighting the complexity of achieving parity in this field.
