A Chinese startup says it produced 8-inch photonic chip wafers without the Western lithography tools that export controls have put largely out of reach.
Prinano claims it made the wafers using nanoimprint lithography — a technique that stamps circuit patterns into material with a physical mold rather than projecting them optically. That distinction matters because it sidesteps deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machines, which are manufactured almost exclusively by Dutch company ASML and have faced increasingly strict export restrictions to China since 2022. The company says the approach cuts costs by 90% versus conventional optical lithography, though no third-party validation of that figure has been published.
Photonic chips — which move signals using light rather than electrons — are a relatively small slice of the semiconductor market today, but they have attracted serious investment as AI workloads push demand for faster, lower-power interconnects. A credible workaround to DUV restrictions, even limited to photonics, would be meaningful: export controls on lithography equipment are widely considered the sharpest lever the US and its allies have over China's chip ambitions.
A 90% cost reduction claim from a startup that has not demonstrated volume production is the kind of number that deserves more scrutiny than a press release invites.