ASML
In what sounds like the setup to a tech-world comedy, Chinese technicians reportedly tried to reverse engineer one of ASML’s highly complex deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machines – and ended up breaking it so badly they had to call the Dutch company to fix it.
According to The National Interest, the incident highlights China’s ongoing struggle to catch up in the semiconductor race. ASML’s DUV systems are critical for producing advanced chips, and because of Western export restrictions, China has been cut off from purchasing the company’s most powerful equipment. That’s led some engineers to take matters into their own hands – quite literally.
The report claims that technicians in China attempted to “decode” or disassemble one of ASML’s older DUV machines in an effort to understand how it worked. Unfortunately, that plan backfired spectacularly. The machine broke down in the process, forcing them to do the very thing they were trying to avoid: call ASML for technical support.
When ASML’s repair team arrived, they quickly realized the damage wasn’t due to normal malfunction. The machine had clearly been taken apart and reassembled incorrectly. The technicians’ attempt at reverse engineering had turned a multimillion-dollar precision tool into a very expensive paperweight.
An ASML EUV machine that is the roughly the size of a bus
It’s not hard to see why this might have happened. A DUV lithography system is an extraordinary piece of machinery, roughly the size of a bus, containing thousands of delicate components designed to operate with nanometer precision. The system uses ultraviolet light to etch circuits onto silicon wafers – a process that must be controlled at the atomic level. Even slight misalignment or contamination can ruin the machine.
Despite recent progress in developing domestic alternatives, China’s homegrown lithography tools still lag significantly behind ASML’s in both precision and reliability. Reverse engineering one of these systems isn’t as simple as taking it apart and studying the pieces. Much of ASML’s technology relies on proprietary software, calibration algorithms, and parts that only the company itself can manufacture or repair.
The irony of calling ASML for help after trying to copy its technology hasn’t gone unnoticed. The story, which has spread widely across tech and defense circles, underscores the challenges China faces in breaking free from dependence on Western semiconductor tools.
While the report remains unverified by ASML, it paints a vivid picture of the risks involved in pushing too hard for technological self-sufficiency. Reverse engineering a DUV system, it turns out, may not just be difficult – it might be downright self-destructive.