China unveils prototype machine for advanced semiconductor chips
Photo: China aims to produce chips using entirely Chinese-made machines (Getty Images)
Chinese scientists have developed a prototype machine to produce cutting-edge semiconductor chips. The project, compared to a Manhattan Project, aims to reduce China's dependence on Western technology, Reuters reports.
The prototype extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machine is designed to manufacture chips for AI, smartphones, and military applications. It was assembled in Shenzhen earlier this year under strict secrecy and is currently undergoing testing.
The machine was developed by a team of former engineers from the Dutch company ASML. While the prototype can generate extreme ultraviolet radiation, it is not yet capable of producing fully functional chips.
EUV machines are critical for technological dominance because they can create circuits thinner than a human hair. Until recently, this technology was fully controlled by the West, particularly ASML.
In April, ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet said China would need "many, many years" to develop this technology, but the prototype brings the country closer to semiconductor independence.
Xi Jinping's top priority
The project is the culmination of a six-year government program for semiconductor self-sufficiency, one of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's main priorities.
"The aim is for China to eventually be able to make advanced chips on machines that are entirely China-made. China wants the United States 100% kicked out of its supply chains," a source told Reuters.
Huawei is involved in the entire process, from chip development to integration into final products, though most employees are unaware of the program's full scale.
China’s Manhattan Project
Participants have likened the program to China’s own Manhattan Project - the highly classified US program during World War II that developed the first atomic bomb between 1942 and 1945.
The initiative united leading scientists, industry, and government resources as a model for large-scale mobilization to achieve a technological breakthrough.
