Canon, the Japanese company renowned for its cameras and printers, has unveiled a solution aimed at helping to manufacture the most advanced semiconductor components. CNBC reports this.
The firm7s nanolithography (NIL) system is designed to challenge the equipment of Dutch company ASML, which dominates the EUV-technology.
ASML systems are used in the production of the most advanced chips such as the 3nm A17 Pro processors for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max from Apple, capable of handling AI workloads.
The Taiwanese company TSMC, which makes this CPU, as well as the South Korean conglomerate Samsung, announced mass production of 2nm chips in 2025.
In lithography, ASML’s machines use hard ultraviolet radiation. Canon noted that their system does not require light of a specific wavelength, which reduces energy consumption.
The Japanese firm has been developing its NIL technology since 2004.
According to an expert from India’s Takshashila Institute, this approach has not gained widespread adoption in the production of complex chips, partly due to successes in the EUV machine segment such as ASML.
Canon says that its FPA-1200NZ2C system can produce semiconductors using a 5nm process and can scale down to 2nm.
Equipment for modern chip production is entangled in the technology race between the United States and China because of the critical nature of semiconductors for fields such as AI or military applications.
The United States, through export controls and various sanctions, seeks to cut China off from key chips and manufacturing equipment, constraining the world’s second-largest economy in technologies where it is already seen as lagging.
The Dutch government banned ASML from exporting EUV equipment to the PRC. Canon did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment on possible NIL-machine shipments to the country.
Nevertheless, Huawei released a new smartphone last month with a 7nm chip, a feat deemed extremely difficult without ASML solutions. That raised questions in Washington about how this is possible, and again drew attention to export controls.
Earlier in China, announced plans to build large facilities to manufacture AI chips bypassing U.S. sanctions.