Researchers from Peking University in China have developed an industrial process that could lead to lithography advancements domestically.
Lithography technology is one of the main driving forces to scaling semiconductor manufacturing to allow for greater integration and more transistors on chips.
Under the development, researchers used cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) to visualize, for the first time, in-situ 3D microstructure, interfacial distribution and entanglement behavior of photoresist molecules in a liquid environment.
Development in lithography is a critical stage the determines how precisely circuit patterns are transferred onto silicon wafers. The motion of photoresist molecules inside the developer affects pattern accuracy and chip yield.
Cyro-ET allowed the researchers to generate a 3D microstructural panoramic image with sub-5 nm resolution. This allowed it to overcome three technical barriers simultaneously: The inability of traditional methods to achieve in-situ; 3D; and high-resolution observation.
Why it matters
Due to the ongoing trade war between China and the U.S., China has been restricted through exports to get its hands on advanced semiconductor equipment and tools to push its own technological improvements in its chip fabs.
But not for a lack of trying.
China’s largest foundry, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), has been able to push their old equipment to the limit but yields are getting worse as SMIC pushes to quadruple patterning. China is seeking to enable smaller advanced nodes without having the proper equipment from Dutch toolmaker ASML and others.
In early July 2025, the U.S. government struck a deal with China that eliminated restrictions on U.S.-based electronic design automation (EDA) firms — like Synopsys, Siemens EDA and Cadence — sending technology to the country.
In exchange, China curbed some export controls on rare Earth materials like antimony, gallium and germanium.
Other deals could come as the U.S. seeks to retain materials for its own semiconductor supply chain.
In the meantime, China continues to develop its homegrown technology to compete with the rest of the world and the breakthrough from Peking University could help enable this.
The full research can be found in Nature Communications.
