China’s Prinano has delivered its first self-developed nanoimprint lithography machine. The company is thus marking a significant step in the global battle for chip production technology.
According to TrendForce, the machine is part of the PL-SR series. This is an inkjet step-and-repeat nanoimprint system that has successfully passed inspections and been delivered to a Chinese customer specializing in special chip processes. The machine can produce lines with a width of less than 10 nanometers.
This is remarkable because Canon’s FPA-1200NZ2C can reach 14 nanometers and claims to be able to produce chips based on a 5nm process. This means that Prinano is taking a technological step that even surpasses its Japanese competitor. However, experts say that the device is not yet suitable for manufacturing advanced logic chips at 5nm.
Alternative to ASML technology
Nanoimprint lithography is seen as an alternative to the extremely expensive EUV technology in which ASML has a global monopoly. The principle of NIL is fundamentally different. Instead of complex light sources and optical systems, a chip design is literally stamped onto a wafer. This makes the machines much cheaper and more energy-efficient to use.
On the other hand, the technology is slower and less suitable for the complex patterns of processors and system-on-chips. However, the technology is ideal for NAND flash and other memory applications with relatively simple structures. Prinano aims to serve precisely this segment with its PL-SR series. The company is also responding to China’s desire to be less dependent on Western high-end production equipment.
The context in which this development is taking place makes the news even more relevant. Canon introduced its first commercial NIL machine at the end of 2024 and delivered it to the Texas Institute for Electronics. This research institute, which originated from the University of Texas, is supported by parties such as Intel, NXP, Samsung, and DARPA. Canon aims to produce ten to twenty NIL systems per year within three to five years.
For the Japanese electronics giant, this represents a serious attempt to regain a significant role in a market that it dominated at the turn of the century alongside Nikon and ASML, but from which it has since slipped far behind.
Many technical challenges
Canon presented NIL as an alternative that would be more efficient and cheaper than EUV. The company even claims that future systems could be made suitable for manufacturing at 2 nanometers, while 5 nanometers is already achievable. It is an ambitious story, but there are many challenges in practice. Air bubbles between the stamp and the wafer, extremely sensitive temperature fluctuations, and low yield rates make mass production difficult. Nevertheless, Canon built a new factory in Japan and found its first potential customer in memory manufacturer Kioxia.
Prinano’s move should also be seen in this light. While Canon is focusing internationally on research consortia and high-end applications, China is trying to develop a domestic chain with Prinano that can withstand export restrictions.
Like EUV systems, Canon’s NIL machines are subject to Western controls and cannot simply be exported to China. The fact that Prinano can now deliver a machine that even outperforms its competitors in specific areas represents a symbolic breakthrough for the Chinese semiconductor industry. It increases the possibility of producing memory chips with its own resources and thus breaking away from foreign suppliers.
The emergence of Prinano and Canon’s renewed ambition give NIL technology new credibility. For a long time, the method was considered too problematic for large-scale deployment, but recent investments and prototypes show that the story is not over yet.
With Prinano focusing on memory applications and Canon pushing the technology towards high-end research, there is now an alternative to ASML’s EUV monopoly that could influence the dynamics of the global chip industry.