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ASML's Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography and the Limits of Reverse Engineering in China
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Fusion42 · 29 July 2026 · Fusion42 review
An analysis of ASML's extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines concludes that while China could gain some component-level knowledge from physical access, it cannot replicate the technology. The immense systems integration complexity, accumulated tacit knowledge, and deeply integrated specialist supply chain form a moat that is nearly impossible to reverse-engineer.
This Wire brief sits within Fusion42's coverage of Semiconductors.
◆ ◆ The Wire takeaway
The moat around the world's most critical deep tech product is not a patent, but a web of irreplaceable suppliers and process knowledge. If you are building complex hardware, your most defensible asset is the unique system you've built with your partners; it cannot be reverse-engineered.
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1 source · 29 Jul 2026
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