Dutch semiconductor giant ASML has been banned from selling its most advanced EUV machines to China. ASML President and CEO Christophe Fouquet used to state that prohibiting the export of these machines to China would cause the country’s semiconductor industry to lag 10 to 15 years, as per Dutch media outlet NRC. However, China appears to have found an alternative approach to generating EUV laser light. A January report from the South China Morning Post revealed that a research team from Harbin Provincial Innovation developed a “discharge plasma extreme ultraviolet lithography light source,” capable of producing EUV lights with a 13.5 nm wavelength, meeting the demands of the photolithography market. According to TechPowerUp, China’s new system under testing uses the LDP approach to generate 13.5 nm EUV radiation as well, by vaporizing tin between electrodes and converting it to plasma through high-voltage discharge, with electron-ion collisions producing the required wavelength. Unlike ASML’s LPP (laser-produced plasma) method, which relies on high-energy lasers and complex FPGA-based controls, the report indicates that China’s LDP offers a simpler design, smaller footprint, better energy efficiency, and potentially lower production costs