Extreme ultraviolet lithography

Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL or simply EUV) is a technology used in the semiconductor industry for manufacturing integrated circuits (ICs). It is a type of photolithography that uses 13.5 nm extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light from a laser-pulsed tin (Sn) plasma to create intricate patterns on semiconductor substrates.

As of 2025, ASML Holding is the only company that produces and sells EUV systems for chip production, targeting 5 nanometer (nm) and 3 nm process nodes, though Reuters reported in December 2025 that China had developed its own prototype EUV system.

The EUV wavelengths that are used in EUVL are near 13.5 nanometers (nm), using a laser-pulsed tin (Sn) droplet plasma to produce a pattern by using a reflective photomask to expose a substrate covered by photoresist. Tin ions in the ionic states from Sn IX to Sn XIV give photon emission spectral peaks around 13.5 nm from 4p64dn – 4p54dn+1 + 4dn−14f ionic state transitions.

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