MediumV Technology Geopolitics & AI15 October 2026, Thursday
Shanghai start-up unveils prototype of a home-grown EUV light source
Langdao Silex showed a prototype light source, the heart of the EUV lithography used to print the most advanced chips, at the 26th China International Industry Fair in Shanghai. The company's published figures put output power above 15 watts; volume production is 3–5 years away.
EUV, or extreme ultraviolet lithography, uses a 13.5-nanometre wavelength to print the smallest circuits onto silicon, and today only ASML sells it commercially. According to Xenospectrum on 15 October, Langdao Silex's low-power FlintNano LPP-OXXO source uses the same broad method as ASML's: laser-produced plasma. The company cites a 1,000-watt drive laser, a repetition rate of 1–20 kHz, conversion efficiency above 2% and more than 100 hours of continuous operation. Staff at the fair said 90% of the components were domestic, but it is unclear what that share is measured against.
For comparison, Xenospectrum notes that ASML reached production level in 2018 with a 250-watt source processing 125 wafers an hour, and demonstrated 500-watt and 1,000-watt sources in 2022 and April 2025 respectively. Measurement conditions differ, so the figures cannot be compared directly. The company's high-power FlintMicro series is at the proof-of-principle stage, while the low-power series is being productised. Pause Hardware noted on 16 October that the Netherlands has restricted sales of ASML's EUV machines to China since 2019, and that Shanghai-based Yuliangsheng is working on a 193-nanometre deep ultraviolet laser.
Talay assessment
Bottom line
The prototype shows China making progress, in principle, on the hardest link in its EUV chain. Yet a wide engineering gap separates 15 watts from the 250-watt level ASML took into production in 2018. The signal is not the light source itself but China's effort to break the machine denied to it by ASML into parts for domestic suppliers. The most likely path is for the 3–5 year timetable to slip, with China continuing to rely on DUV machines and multi-patterning in the near term.
Likely effects
- Export controlsNegative1–6 months
Progress on domestic components could give Washington fresh grounds to press allies to restrict older DUV machines as well.
- ASML's China marketUncertainWeeks
Because substituting for EUV will take years, demand for the DUV machines ASML sells to China holds up in the near term.
- China's chip self-sufficiencyUncertain6 months+
Domestic supply of light sources gives substance to China's goal of reducing its reliance on foreign machines at the leading-edge nodes over time.
Possibilities, ranked
- 1Slow progress60%
Power and stability problems push volume production to the upper end of the 3–5 year range, and China keeps advancing with DUV.
Watch: Power and operating-time figures Langdao Silex releases for its high-power FlintMicro series
- 2Control pressure intensifies30%
Citing China's domestic EUV progress, the US asks allies for DUV and servicing restrictions.
Watch: Washington's requests for DUV and servicing curbs, and Dutch licensing decisions on ASML
- 3Rapid leap10%
China integrates a high-power source into a pilot line earlier than expected.
Watch: A Chinese foundry announcing a domestic EUV pilot line
Probabilities are calibrated judgement based on the sources, not measurement, and are revised as new information arrives. Not investment advice.
Market reaction
Indicators affected
- EUV output power▲ 15 W+
- Time to volume output▼ 3–5 years