Following the Netherlands ‘ tightening of export regulations, China’s options for immersion deep- ultraviolet ( DUV) lithography systems that it can purchase from ASML have become more limited.  ,
According to a recent statement from ASML, the French government has largely revoked its authorization for the delivery of the NXT: 2050i and Nxt: 2100i printing systems to China starting this year.
In China, there is some hopeful thinking on screen. Numerous island news websites reported on Wednesday that ASML had” entirely” shipped all high-end Detector printing equipment to China by the January 1 date. They cited a report that was released on Tuesday by the pro-Beijing Chinese paper China Times.  ,
However, the pre-scheduled supplies of ASML’s DUV devices had just “basically” been finished by the end of 2023, according to the classic China Times report.
It turns out that there is a huge difference between fully and basically coud.
ASML has not yet delivered goods for about 35 billion dollars ( US$ 38.2 billion ) worldwide, according to Shen Bo, chairman of the organization in China. Many of those commands, he claimed, were from China.
The company announced in June that all shipments of its most sophisticated soaking Detector printing systems, the NXT: 2000i, and later immersion systems may require import licenses from the French government. Actually, the new regulations were supposed to go into effect on September 1st, 2023, but that date was later changed to January 1, 2024.
ASML did not disclose whether its import permit for the package of NXT: 2000i printing has been revoked in its most recent declaration.  ,
However, if it is also revoked, just the NXT: 1980 series immersion DUV machine—which can produce up to 7nm chips in various exposures and 38 nanometers in solitary exposure—can be bought by Chinese customers.  ,
impacted delivery
According to Bloomberg, the Biden administration contacted ASML “weeks before” the January 1, 2024 trade restrictions date and asked the company to stop some pre-scheduled shipments of its DUV equipment to its Foreign clients.  ,
According to the review, only a small number of machine ships were impacted.
Since its initial sale to the nation in 1988, ShenBo claimed in November that his firm had shipped 1400 printing, testing, and detecting machines to China. He omitted to break down the number.
Caijing.com reported next November that there were fewer than five ASML networks in China that were as sophisticated as NXT: 2000i, according to an unnamed expert in the chip-making sector. According to the report, there should be fewer than 80 Series: 1980Di in China as a whole.  ,
According to a report published in November, top investment manager at Huayi Ventures Fang Liang claimed that the US, the Netherlands, and Japan were limiting the export of their printing equipment to China as well as their components, raw materials, essential process parameters, manufacturing environment facilities.
He claimed that sending front-line specialists had also been constrained and that many Chinese chipmakers were having trouble finding printing parts.
NXT:1980Di
China provided ASML with about 2.92 billion dollars in profit in 2022. The amount increased to 5.28 billion dollars in the first three rooms of 2023.  ,
According to some experts, China’s plan to buy more NXT: 1980Di was the reason for the rise in supplies there in 2023. However, some observers speculated that NXT: 1980Di shipments from the Netherlands to China might eventually be outlawed. In addition,  ,
The Bureau of Industry and Security ( BIS ) of the US Department of Commerce announced on October 17, 2023, that lithography equipment with a maximum “dedicated chuck overlay (DCO )” value of 1.5 to 2.4 nm cannot be shipped from the United States to China.
The DCO price is a measure of the effectiveness of scanning. Accuracy increases with price decreases.
As a result of the new regulations, the BIS has prohibited the shipment of ASML’s 2000Di and 1970Ci, which have maximum DCO principles of 1.6 and 2nm, both, from the US to China. There has n’t been any indication yet that the Dutch government will do the same.
ASML announced on Monday that it has learned more about the scope and effects of US export control laws from subsequent conversations with the US government.
It stated that it is completely committed to abiding by all applicable laws and regulations, including trade control policy, in the nations where it conducts business.
Read: The tech wars’ following entrance will be chip packaging.
At , @jeffpao3 is Jeff Pao’s Twitter account.