US wants allies to boost chip ban against China

The United States has reportedly called on its allies, including Japan and the Netherlands, to strengthen their chip export ban after media reports said China will use deep-ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machines to mass produce 5 nanometer chips this year.

The Biden administration is urging Japanese firms to limit export of specialized chip-making chemicals, including photoresist, to China, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

A photoresist is a light-sensitive material used to form a patterned coating on the surface of a substrate, or silicon wafer, during the process of photolithography and photoengraving.

Washington is also pressing the Dutch government to stop ASML, the world’s largest chip equipment maker, from servicing and repairing lithography devices of the type that had been shipped to China but since the beginning of this year have been subject to new export controls.

On January 1 this year, ASML said the Dutch government had partially revoked its license for the shipment of NXT:2050i and NXT:2100i lithography systems to China.

But it did not say whether its export license for the shipment of NXT:2000i also had been revoked. The NXT:2000i, together with the older NXT:1980Di, are capable of making 5nm or 7nm chips but the yield will be too low for commercial operation.

The Bloomberg report said Washington also wants Germany and South Korea to restrict the exports of their Zeiss optical lenses and chip-equipment parts, respectively, to China.

An official at Japan’s industry ministry told Reuters that the ministry routinely discusses export controls with relevant countries.

The Netherlands’ considerations

Micky Adriaansens, the Dutch economic affairs minister, told Reuters