Huawei Coordinates Domestic DUV Lithography, Targeting 12 Units by Year-End

ChainCatcher reports that, according to the Financial Times, Huawei is deepening its involvement in China’s domestic lithography machine supply chain by investing in related equipment and component manufacturers, while also coordinating suppliers, wafer fabs, and system integrators to advance the deployment of domestic DUV lithography machines in actual production lines. Bernstein analysts have described Huawei as the “project manager” of China’s DUV initiative. The most advanced progress has been made by Shanghai Yuliangsheng, which has participated in developing China’s advanced DUV systems; equipment has already been tested at wafer fabs including SMIC and Huawei’s own production lines, with plans to produce 12 units by the end of this year. Initially, the focus is on manufacturing simpler chips, with the ultimate goal of enabling advanced AI chip production. Domestic DUV systems have not yet fully broken free from overseas supply chains—Yuliangsheng still relies on German Zeiss for its projection lenses, and high-power light sources remain a key bottleneck. Huawei has invested in companies such as Qiqi Photonics and Keyi Hongyuan to strengthen domestic capabilities in lenses and light sources, respectively.