Chinese start-up claims nanoimprint tech can mass-produce optical chips without ASML gear

There is debate over the real value of nanoimprint lithography when it comes to volumes, yields and non-photonic chips

Chinese start-up Prinano said it has validated mass production of photonic chips on 8-inch silicon wafers using technology other than conventional lithography tools at one tenth of the cost.

Based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, the company said it worked with Shenzhen Litra Technology to make 8-inch optical chip wafers while “completely avoiding” the need for deep ultraviolet lithography (DUV), according to a Friday post on its WeChat account.

Prinano said its PL-AS vacuum air-cushion nanoimprint lithography (NIL) equipment was used in the production, with “customised double-layer imprinting materials and core processes”.

The company claimed the approach could reduce chip manufacturing costs to about one-tenth of traditional DUV-based solutions, while supporting wafer-level production of photonic chips, widely used in optical communication, sensing and lidar applications.

This may be a new silver lining for China’s chipmaking sector as some DUV machines from ASML, as well as the Dutch firm’s more advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) systems, have been banned from export to China. However, there has been debate over the real value of nanoimprint lithography when it comes to volumes, yields and non-photonic chips.

Prinano said in August last year that it had delivered what it called China’s first semiconductor NIL system to a domestic customer, marking an early attempt to commercialise the technology for chip-related applications.