‘Fancy tool’: how China cut chip defects by 99% for near-perfect lithography

South China Morning PostCenterEN 1 min read 100% complete by Zhang TongOctober 30, 2025 at 09:10 AM

AI Summary

short article 1 min

A joint Chinese research team from Peking University, Tsinghua University, and the University of Hong Kong developed a method to reduce defects in semiconductor chip lithography by up to 99%. Published in Nature Communications on September 30, the breakthrough utilized cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) to identify minute sources of common manufacturing flaws. Professor Peng Hailin from Peking University stated that this solution is compatible with existing production lines and can significantly reduce costs by minimizing defects on 12-inch wafers. Lithography, described as the process of "printing circuits" onto semiconductor wafers like silicon, plays a crucial role in chip manufacturing.

Key Topics & Entities

Nature Communications 40% University of Hong Kong 50% Tsinghua University 60% Peking University ×270% Peng Hailin ×480%

Keywords

lithography 100% chip manufacturing 90% chip defects 90% cryo-electron tomography (cryo-et) 80% semiconductor industry 70% nature communications 60% 12-inch wafers 60% cost benefits 50% photoresist development 50% peng hailin 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Positive

Score: 0.80

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center (0.10)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.

lithography chip manufacturing chip defects cryo-electron tomography (cryo-et)semiconductor industry nature communications 12-inch wafers cost benefits photoresist development peng hailin

Explore Full Topic Graph