China's Langdao Silex has shown a prototype extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light source system for the first time, at the 26th China International Industry Fair in Shanghai. According to a Jiefang Daily report dated October 14, 2026, exhibition staff said the domestic content rate has reached 90%. However, mass production is still expected to be three to five years away, so the display marks a stage in development toward practical use. The EUV light source is a critical technology for manufacturing advanced semiconductors, but a high share of domestically made parts is not the same as being able to operate reliably in a chip factory. Comparing the company's official product information with ASML's development history in the Netherlands shows the challenges that remain before commercialization.
China Unveils a Prototype EUV Light Source With 90% Domestic Content
According to Jiefang Daily's on-site coverage, what Langdao Silex exhibited this time was a prototype EUV light source system for use in semiconductor lithography equipment. The paper quoted exhibition staff as saying: "The domestic content rate of the light source system on display is 90%, and most of the core components were developed in-house. The technical approach is the same as that of leading overseas manufacturers, and it can be used for chip exposure tests." Publicly showing a domestically developed EUV light source in a form that can be used for exposure testing can be seen as one step forward in China's push to localize semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
However, it is not clear what basis the 90% figure uses, whether it is part count, procurement cost, weight, or something else. A high share of domestic parts also does not necessarily mean that the equipment's performance and reliability have reached the level needed for mass production. The figure indicates progress in localizing procurement and development, but it needs to be evaluated separately from the performance of the EUV light source itself.
Moreover, the EUV light source is only one component of a semiconductor lithography system. Actually manufacturing chips requires combining multiple advanced technologies, including masks carrying circuit patterns and the optical system that transfers their image onto the wafer. Completing a prototype light source therefore does not mean the entire EUV lithography system is complete. The "three to five years until mass production" outlook in the report also applies to the light source system, and it is not a guarantee that China can begin mass-producing cutting-edge chips within the same period.
The Low-Power EUV Source Is at the Commercialization Stage; the High-Power Model Has Completed Proof of Principle
The official product page for Langdao Silex shows that the company's EUV light sources are divided into the low-power "FlintNano-LPP" and the high-power "FlintMicro-LPP." According to the official information as of October 15, 2026, FlintNano-LPP has advanced to the commercialization stage, while FlintMicro-LPP has completed proof of principle. In other words, even within the same manufacturer, development progress differs, and not every EUV light source is close to mass production.
| Product line | Position | Development stage in official information |
|---|---|---|
| FlintNano-LPP | Low-power EUV source | Commercialization stage |
| FlintMicro-LPP | High-power EUV source | Proof of principle completed |
These are development statuses published by Langdao Silex itself, not an assessment of the products' maturity or performance by a third-party body. Even so, they show that commercialization is progressing for the low-power source, while the high-power source has only completed verification of its basic principle. It would not be appropriate to lump the two together and say that mass production of EUV light sources is imminent.
Specific specifications have been published for the low-power model, the "FlintNano LPP-OXXO." The company's product information lists the drive laser power, EUV output, continuous operating time, and other figures. The main specifications are as follows.
| Item | Specification published by the company |
|---|---|
| Drive laser power | 1,000 W |
| Laser repetition frequency | 1–20 kHz |
| Conversion efficiency | Over 2% |
| EUV output | Over 15 W |
| Continuous operating time | Over 100 hours |
It is important to note that the 1,000 W figure refers to the power of the drive laser used to generate the plasma, not the output of the EUV light itself. The EUV output actually usable for exposure is listed as over 15 W, and the two are different metrics. The 1,000 W laser power cannot be compared directly with ASML's light source figures as if it were EUV output. It is also unclear whether each figure was measured under the same operating conditions, so it would not be appropriate to simply divide the published values to calculate conversion efficiency independently.
The stated ability to run continuously for more than 100 hours is also an important indicator for practical use. However, the official specifications do not give the EUV measurement point, detailed operating conditions, output stability over long-term use, or equipment availability including maintenance. In addition, the Jiefang Daily report does not identify the model of the prototype on display. The published specifications of the FlintNano LPP-OXXO therefore cannot be taken as the measured performance of the exhibited unit.
What ASML's Development History Shows About Conditions for Mass-Producing EUV Sources
The difficulty of bringing an EUV light source into practical use can also be understood from the development history of the pioneer, ASML. In its 2025 annual report, the company recalls that the light source in its early EUV prototype introduced in 2010 produced only 1 W. Even at that output, customers could test the potential of EUV lithography, but it was insufficient to deliver the throughput needed for chip mass production. There was a large technical gap between establishing a way to generate EUV light and using that light to manufacture semiconductors economically.
The wavelength of light used in EUV lithography is 13.5 nm, which is different from node names such as "3nm" and "2nm" that denote semiconductor manufacturing processes. In the laser-produced plasma (LPP) method, which Langdao Silex also uses, a powerful laser is fired at a material to create plasma, and the EUV light it emits is used. ASML's system fires a laser at tiny droplets of tin, then collects the resulting EUV light and directs it into the lithography system's optics.
According to ASML, its EUV light source reached 250 W in 2018, achieving a production-level throughput of 125 wafers per hour. The company continued to raise output, developing a 500 W prototype source in 2022. In April 2025 it successfully demonstrated a 1,000 W EUV source, but it explains that it will still take time before a commercial 1,000 W source can be introduced. Even for the leading manufacturer, achieving high output at the R&D stage and putting it into practical use as production equipment are separate challenges.
However, 250 W is not a minimum mass-production requirement common to all EUV lithography systems. The throughput of 125 wafers per hour is likewise a figure for ASML's equipment at the time and cannot be applied as is to other machines. It also cannot be simply compared with Langdao Silex's published figure of over 15 W, whose measurement conditions are unclear, and converted into a gap in production capacity or a technological lag in years. What ASML's history does suggest is that a key condition for judging readiness for mass production is not only raising EUV output but also how many wafers can actually be processed stably with that light.
Output Stability and Component Lifetime Will Determine Practical Use of EUV Sources
For EUV light sources to be put into practical use, it matters not only how high the output is but also whether stable performance can be maintained over long periods. In an article profiling an engineer working on collector mirror lifetime, ASML describes the problem of optical components placed near the plasma being exposed to contamination and material damage. In an EUV source, substances and energy produced while generating the plasma can affect the collector mirror, and long-term operation requires maintaining the optics' performance. Even if EUV output can be increased, it would be difficult to use the source stably as semiconductor production equipment if the collector mirror degraded in a short time.
To address this problem, ASML not only searched for materials resistant to damage but also researched adjusting the environment inside the light source to conditions suited to the collector mirror's material. As a result, it says it was able to improve mirror lifetime significantly. In this development process, materials science and chemistry played important roles alongside plasma control. However, this was a technical challenge ASML faced, and it has not been confirmed that Langdao Silex's prototype has the same problem. Even so, it shows that evaluating an EUV light source requires checking component lifetime and maintenance conditions, not just output.
Integrating a light source into an actual lithography system also requires sophisticated integration with other technologies. According to ASML's explanation of its EUV lithography systems, EUV light is absorbed even by air, so the entire optical path from the light source to the wafer must be kept in a high vacuum. Multilayer mirrors to guide the EUV light, optics to transfer circuit patterns accurately, and mechanisms to position the wafer with extremely high precision are also needed. Only by combining these elements can the EUV light generated by the source be used in semiconductor manufacturing.
Langdao Silex's unveiling of a prototype EUV light source can be seen as one step toward establishing advanced chipmaking technology within China. However, judging whether the outlook of mass production in three to five years is feasible will require more concrete verification results, such as EUV output and measurement conditions for each product line, stability during long-term operation, component lifetime, and availability including maintenance. It will also matter whether the source can be integrated into an actual lithography system and demonstrate wafer throughput and exposure precision. The 90% domestic content figure indicates progress in development, but judging whether the source has matured into one usable in a chip factory will require watching future performance verification and implementation results.