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ASML Denies US Government Report That Its EUV Chipmaking Tool Was Shipped To China
EDITORS: THIS HAS BEEN PRODUCED BY SOFTWARE UNDER DEVELOPMENT - THE CONTENT MAY REQUIRE EXTENSIVE EDITING
The company is refuting a recent report claiming the U.S. government believes that one of ASML's extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems may have somehow reached China despite export restrictions, according to Bloomberg, [bloomberg.com] citing sources familiar with negotiations between the U.S. officials and ASML executives. ASML denies any wrongdoing and claims that it knows the location of every EUV tool it has ever built.
"In recent years, ASML has refuted several unfounded rumors regarding non-compliance with export controls concerning China which were inaccurate and damaging to our reputation," a spokesperson for ASML told Tom's Hardware.
The U.S. government has not publicly produced evidence that a complete EUV scanner is operating in China. Yet, several senior administration officials told Bloomberg that they possess information indicating that ASML exported equipment associated with EUV systems, including specialized systems used to 'transport EUV machines.' Those officials declined to disclose any evidence, citing sensitivity concerns.
"ASML has never shipped an EUV machine to China, nor have we shipped to China any component, module or equipment specially designed to be used in an EUV machine," the spokesperson told us.
An ASML EUV scanner is made of 100,000 components and weighs 180 tons. It is transported only by air on multiple planes, and it would be impossible to intercept such a shipment without causing an international scandal. Meanwhile, given the complexity of the machine, it is impossible to build one using spare or scrap parts or reverse engineer it using its components, as we reported back in December [tomshardware.com].
Bloomberg claims that ASML has circulated an internal presentation titled 'No indication of any ASML EUV System in China,' which reportedly states there are 314 EUV systems currently operating worldwide and another 26 that have been retired. According to the document, none are located in China. The presentation further notes that EUV scanners continuously communicate with ASML, so the company can detect interruptions, abnormal activity, or connectivity issues. In addition, customers cannot simply dismantle, transport, and reinstall an EUV scanner without direct assistance from ASML due to specialized logistics and handling requirements.
ASML certainly understands concerns of the West regarding China, so claims it has never shipped an EUV tool to the People's Republic initially due to the Wassenaar Arrangement and then due to more recently imposed export controls.
"ASML regularly engages in transparent and open dialogue with government leaders globally," ASML told us. "We recognize the national security [tomshardware.com] considerations behind export control regulations in the U.S. and the Netherlands. As a company, we are fully committed to abiding by all laws and regulations applicable to our business activities, including all applicable relevant export control regulations, and we have consistently adjusted our business to any development in export controls to comply to any new rules."
