In a development that could reshape the global semiconductor race, Huawei filed a patent outlining a path to 2 nm-class chip production using only deep-ultraviolet (DUV) lithography tools – the very equipment it still has access to despite sweeping Western export controls that block extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) machines from ASML.
The patent, originally submitted in 2022 but only recently made public and spotted by veteran semiconductor researcher Dr. Frederick Chen, describes a sophisticated multi-patterning technique that could allow Huawei and its manufacturing partner SMIC to reach an ultra-tight 21 nm metal pitch – a critical dimension that puts the resulting nodes on par with the “2 nm-class” processes being readied by TSMC and Samsung, both of which rely heavily on EUV lithography.
At the heart of Huawei’s approach is an optimized Self-Aligned Quadruple Patterning (SAQP) flow that reportedly reduces the number of required DUV exposures to just four, a significant improvement over conventional multi-patterning schemes that often demand far more passes and drive complexity through the roof.
By pushing existing DUV infrastructure to its absolute limit, the company aims to leapfrog straight from its freshly demonstrated Kirin 9030 (fabricated on SMIC’s N+3 node) to a future 2 nm-generation offering without ever touching restricted EUV tools.
Commercial viability is still a question
Industry observers, however, remain cautious. Even if the technical feasibility is proven in the lab, the commercial viability of such an aggressively patterned DUV process is widely questioned. Quadruple patterning at these dimensions could be notoriously yield-killing, defect-prone, and astronomically expensive compared to single-exposure EUV, which is why the rest of the leading-edge industry has already migrated to the newer technology for 3 nm and below.
If Huawei’s SAQP-based 2 nm recipe ever reaches high-volume manufacturing, it would mark a remarkable act of technological defiance against the sanctions regime. For now, the patent stands as both a statement of intent and a reminder of how far China is willing to push decades-old lithography in pursuit of self-sufficiency.
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