Russia's Zelenograd Nanotechnology Center (ZNTC) has reportedly completed a prototype lithography tool for 130nm semiconductor manufacturing. According to the Russian technology outlet CNews, the tool handles wafers up to 200mm in diameter, and a document certifying completion of the third stage of research and development was signed on August 7, 2026. Russia's effort to develop its own equipment for transferring circuit patterns onto wafers with light has now reached the point of a working prototype.
The 130nm figure, however, does not mean Russia has reached a new chip-manufacturing generation for the first time. The Russian chipmaker Mikron has already announced volume production down to 90nm. What this step signifies is progress toward a system in which Russia can supply the lithography equipment that underpins chip manufacturing. The key question now is whether the tool can move from a completed prototype to stable chip production at customers' fabs.
Prototype, acceptance testing and volume production are separate stages
In an August interview with CNews, ZNTC CEO Anatoly Kovalev explained that what has been completed is a prototype stepper, and that preliminary testing and establishing basic manufacturing processes remain ahead. A stepper is a tool that exposes small sections of a wafer one after another, repeatedly transferring the same circuit pattern. The CEO also outlined a plan to aim for customer contracts in 2027. CNews's exclusive report described only one milestone in the development process.
On September 28, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov said that acceptance testing of the tool would begin in the fall and be completed by the end of the year. He said testing of the Russian-made excimer laser used as the light source has already been finished. The TASS dispatch (carried by Rambler) that reported this explanation also makes clear that verification of the whole tool is still to come.
The sequence is as follows: the prototype was completed in August 2026, acceptance testing of the tool is planned from fall through the end of the year, and the aim is to sign customer contracts in 2027.
| Timing | Milestone / target | Status and source |
|---|---|---|
| August 7, 2026 | Completion of R&D stage 3, prototype built | Reported by CNews on August 12 as completed |
| Fall to end of 2026 | Acceptance testing of the tool | Plan given by the industry and trade minister on September 28 |
| 2027 | Customer contracts | Plan given by ZNTC's CEO in August |
The table separates work already completed from future targets for the same 130nm tool. What was finished in August is an R&D milestone that CNews reported on the basis of procurement documents; it does not mean testing of the whole tool has ended. The September test schedule reported by TASS and the 2027 contract target given by the CEO are both plans for the future.
This timeline does not include a start date for commercial chip production. Manufacturing and delivering a machine is a different stage from a chipmaker integrating it into its own process and reliably producing good chips. In its October 5 report, Tom's Hardware projected that processing of commercial wafers would begin around 2029 at the earliest. That is the outlet's own outlook, however, not a production schedule announced by ZNTC or the Russian government.
A 193nm light source, and the three performance factors that determine volume production
Lassard, which develops the laser, explained in a September 2024 official announcement that it was developing 193nm and 248nm excimer lasers for "Progress 130." At the time, it had built two prototypes and was aiming for testing the following year and volume production in 2026. CNews reports that the current tool uses the 193nm light source.
The wavelength of the light and the fineness of the circuit patterns a tool can transfer are not the same number. For example, Nikon's immersion lithography system NSR-S636E, announced in 2023, uses a 193nm light source and specifies a resolution of 38nm or less. Because the immersion method and optics differ, it cannot be compared directly with the ZNTC tool, but it shows that using a 193nm laser alone does not determine a tool's resolution. Conversely, using a light source of the same wavelength does not mean the Russian tool can manufacture advanced chips.
Nikon's technical explainer lists three key performance measures for lithography tools: the resolution of the projection lens, overlay accuracy, and throughput. They indicate, respectively, how fine a pattern can be drawn, how accurately a layer can be aligned with the previous one, and how many wafers can be processed in a given time.
A chip is not completed in a single exposure. The mask image is transferred onto a photosensitive film, which is developed to form a pattern for processing. To build another layer, the mask is swapped and exposure is repeated. Even if a single fine line can be drawn, circuits cannot be connected in the intended positions if alignment with the layer below is off. Achieving high resolution on a test pattern and reliably manufacturing multilayer chips as good products are different capabilities.
Manufacturers' own materials show how long ago tools in the 130nm generation existed. In an August 2001 announcement, ASML touted the KrF-based PAS 5500/800 as offering 120nm resolution, throughput of 115 wafers per hour on 200mm wafers, and single-machine overlay accuracy of under 20nm. Its light source was 248nm, so both its method and its specifications differ from the ZNTC tool. Even so, it shows that tools handling dimensions close to 130nm existed about a quarter century ago, and that positioning accuracy and productivity were already important evaluation criteria then.
Neither CNews's report on the prototype nor the test plan relayed by TASS gives measured values for the 130nm tool's overlay accuracy, throughput, or performance over long periods of operation. The 130nm target dimension is one indicator of development progress, but judging whether the tool is usable in a fab requires these performance figures.
Existing 90nm manufacturing, and what supplying lithography tools domestically means
In its own official announcement, Mikron explains that it carries out production down to 90nm, citing products such as power-management chips and RFID. Given this existing capability, it would not be right to take development of a 130nm lithography tool as meaning that "Russian chipmaking has reached 130nm for the first time." Having a process for manufacturing chips is a different matter from developing and supplying the equipment used in that process.
Developing the tool also has significance for maintaining and renewing existing production lines. In its explanation of DUV lithography systems, ASML likewise says 200mm tools are used to replace aging lithography equipment in existing fabs. The value of a new tool is not determined solely by how small a minimum dimension it can reach. For chipmakers, being able to keep necessary manufacturing processes running is also an important practical value.
RFID is used to identify and manage goods, and power-management chips distribute power appropriately inside devices. Such products have demand distinct from that for advanced CPUs. Nikon also explains that for analog and power semiconductors, lithography tools suited to relatively large circuit patterns are used. Evaluating 130nm or 350nm tools solely by their generation gap with the latest processors risks overlooking the manufacturing processes fabs actually need.
That said, having an application does not guarantee a new tool will be adopted. It must be compatible with the materials and processes customers already use and meet the required quality and throughput. Even if there are policy or supply-side reasons for introducing a domestic tool, checking its fit with real manufacturing processes cannot be skipped.
Division of labor with Belarus behind "domestic production"
ZNTC's tool development is not a project carried out by Russia alone. According to documents CNews confirmed, Belarus's Planar handled tool development, the manufacture of mechanical parts and adjustment of the prototype, while Lassard developed the laser. ZNTC's CEO explained that ZNTC is responsible for overall design as well as preparing test facilities, design calculations for the projection lens, and developing manufacturing processes. Given this division of labor, the tool cannot be regarded as one built entirely from parts made inside Russia.
Cooperation with Planar can also be seen in the earlier 350nm tool. In a March 2025 announcement, Rusnano said that Planar had taken part in the joint development, and also disclosed that development of the 130nm tool was scheduled for completion in 2026. In developing lithography tools that combine a light source, optics and precision mechanisms, making technologies held by multiple companies work as a single system is itself a major challenge.
The 350nm tool is also a useful reference for considering introduction into customers' manufacturing processes. In September 2025, Mikron announced that ZNTC and "Otraslevye Resheniya," a subsidiary of Element, had signed a supply contract. The contract included installation and commissioning, and Mikron's CEO explained that conformity with all parameters set out in the R&D specification had been confirmed. ZNTC's CEO also said that the tool's various parameters had been verified at the production site. However, this was an announcement about the 350nm tool, and similar confirmation has not been completed for the 130nm tool.
CNews also reported that the 130nm tool's development cost was 5.7 billion rubles. This figure differs from the selling price of a single tool in volume production, and it alone cannot be used to judge the domestic tool's profitability or competitiveness. Even after passing tests, a system for supplying tools continuously must be set up, and a track record of commissioning at customer sites must be built up.
Once acceptance testing of the 130nm tool ends, the next factors for judgment will be under what conditions overlay accuracy and throughput were confirmed, and in which processes it was used at customers' manufacturing sites. If such a track record accumulates, completing this prototype could become a new option for Russian chip fabs to secure the equipment they need on a continuing basis.