In the past period of time, Chinese crystal foundry manufacturers and technology manufacturers have been unable to obtain extreme ultraviolet light (EUV) etching machines, which is the main reason why China has fallen in the chip competition. However, according to the report of the Chinese media "Hangzhou Daily", China is about to deliver its first domestically-owned and commercially available electronic beam etching tool. This marks China has taken a new step in chip manufacturing capabilities and is also moving towards technological independence.

This Taichung first electron beam lithography machine is named "Xizhi", taken from the name of the Legalist "Wang Xizhi". This electron beam etching machine was developed by the team of the Xihang Quantum Research Institute of Zhejiang University. It is currently entering the application test stage. The number of the accuracy can reach the mainstream international standard, providing key support for the research and development of advanced semiconductor technologies such as quantum chips.

According to reports, the "Xizhi" lithography machine looks like a large steel cabinet. It focuses on the silicon-based wafer "handwritten" circuit and has the ability to have a line width of 8 nanometers and a positioning accuracy of 0.6 nanometers. The design can be directly modified without a mask plate, especially suitable for repeated adjustment and verification in the early stages of chip development. The device is described as "a nano-devil that can carve urban maps on hair" and shows its precise performance in the process of micro-film production.

Why is it named "Xizhi"? It symbolizes the use of an electron beam as the "clip" to perform high-precision circuit writing on the wafer. The report pointed out that the launch of this equipment is a major milestone in the transformation of the cooperation results between Zhejiang University and local scientific innovation bases. The report quoted the research and development team as saying that the products have officially entered the market and have negotiated and cooperated with many companies and research institutions.

The report also mentioned that top research institutions in China, including China University of Science and Technology, Zhijiang Laboratory and other countries, have been unable to obtain relevant high-level etching equipment for a long time due to export control policies restricted by the United States and its alliances. The launch of "Xizhi" is expected to break the long-term situation of being restricted by people and equipment, and improve China's strategic capabilities in independent research and development of advanced processes.

In addition to performance standards, the price of "Xizhi" is also lower than that of international imported equipment, providing more flexible space for cost-sensitive research units and new entrepreneurs in China. The report pointed out that many parties have expressed their willingness to cooperate with the equipment, and the market potential is expected.

"Hangzhou Daily" further pointed out that the birth of "Xizhi" is not an isolated case, but one of the specific achievements of Zhejiang Province in recent years under the dual integration policy of "technology innovation" and "production innovation". Zhejiang University and Xihang District cooperate to create a rapid transformation mechanism from experimental room samples to market-based quantitative products through the "technical demand list", "professor's list of challenges" and "full process" models to accelerate the commercialization of scientific research results.

At present, the Economic Park of the Headquarters of Zhejiang University’s Alumni Enterprises has become one of the demonstration bases for the transformation of this type of achievement. Several experiment rooms and enterprise workstations located in the West City Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Corridor have also simultaneously promoted this "first kilometer" transformation model. The report pointed out that in the future, the local government will continue to deepen the "two new integrations", promote hard technology breakthroughs and implementation applications, and strengthen China's independent layout in the high-tech equipment field.