US raises concerns to ASML about China’s access to top chip tools - Crypto Briefing

The U.S. government has raised concerns directly with ASML, the world’s sole manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, over potential Chinese access to its most advanced chip-mak... Read original →

U.S. pressure on ASML targets not just EUV compliance but China’s workaround using DUV multi-patterning to approach 3nm nodes. If the MATCH Act passes, ASML’s China-sourced DUV service revenue—roughly 15% of its global total—faces immediate risk, forcing SMIC and peers to accelerate domestic lithography validation despite yield and cost hurdles. Technically, this accelerates China’s push into ArF dry lithography integration, but with diminishing returns. TSMC and Samsung will leverage this gap to solidify sub-3nm foundry dominance while deepening ties with U.S.-aligned EDA and IP ecosystems. Over the next 18 months, export controls will evolve from hardware bans to full-stack technological decoupling. Even fully compliant, ASML cannot avoid structural revenue erosion. The era of politically neutral semiconductor equipment is over.