ASML EUV in China? The rumour is ridiculed but it reveals a tougher reality on the ground

For anyone closely watching the semiconductor industry, the recent saga around ASML’s denial of possible EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography shipments to China, in an apparent response to US concern, may sound almost absurd at first.The machine at the centre of the discussion is not a laptop-sized piece of equipment that can be easily packed into a shipping carton. ASML’s EUV lithography systems weigh about 180 tonnes, contain a vast number of precision components, are shipped to customers in the bellies of huge cargo planes, and require extensive installation, calibration and service support.That is why US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick’s reported concern that such technology may have reached China was met with scepticism, and even ridicule, by some industry observers.