In 2024, a TSMC factory halted its production line for two full days due to a single particle-thinner than a human hair-inside an EUV lithography machine.
It wasn't a mechanical failure; dust had simply settled on one of the mirrors.
The mirror's precision is engineered to 0.12 nanometers, with a surface roughness of just 20 picometers. At this level of precision, a tiny particle can cause an entire batch of wafers to be scrapped.
Engineers spent 48 hours recalibrating the system.
This story reveals the most brutal truth of the semiconductor optics industry:
It is not a question of whether it *can* be manufactured, but whether one can ensure there are *no unexpected issues*.
What exactly does Zeiss monopolize?
Many know that ASML holds a monopoly on EUV lithography machines. However, few realize that the optical systems within ASML's EUV machines come entirely from Zeiss.
A breakdown of the pros and cons of Zeiss progressive lenses: comparisons, series overview, and price list-everything you need to know at a glance! – Naikan.com
An EUV lithography machine sells for over 300 million euros. The most critical, expensive, and difficult-to-manufacture component is the optical system composed of these mirrors.
Zeiss's semiconductor division employs 8,500 people, 2,000 of whom are dedicated solely to EUV technology.
This is no exaggeration. The cleanliness level in the EUV mirror production workshop is ten thousand times higher than that of an operating room. Temperature fluctuations within the workshop must not exceed 0.01 degrees Celsius. Any vibration could undo months of polishing work.
Zeiss is the only company in the world capable of manufacturing these components.
In 2016, ASML spent 1 billion euros to acquire a 25% stake in Zeiss's semiconductor division-not to guard against competitors, but out of fear that Zeiss might stop partnering with them.
Where exactly does China's optics industry fall short?
The answer to this question operates on three levels.
Level One: Sectors where we are already winning
China is already the global leader in mobile phone lenses, automotive lenses, and security camera lenses. In the first half of 2025, Sunny Optical's revenue approached 20 billion yuan, and it ranked at the top globally in terms of shipment volume.
Zeiss has virtually no presence in these sectors.
This isn't a case of catching up; it is a case of having already won the competition. Image
The Second Level: A Sector Just Entered
In the high-end microscope sector, Yongxin Optics launched China's first four-color laser confocal microscope in 2023; it boasts a resolution of 120 nanometers and is priced at half that of imported models. Institutions such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences are already using it.
Yongxin also led the formulation of the international standard ISO 9345, marking the first time the company took a seat at the table where the rules of the game are set.
However, market share data for 2025 tells a stark story: Zeiss and Leica together control nearly 60% of the confocal microscope market, while the domestic substitution rate has only just reached double digits.
The journey from 0 to 1 is complete, but the journey from 1 to 10 has only just begun.
The Third Level: A Sector with a Long Way to Go
Domestic companies like Fujian Forecam Optics and Motic Optical (Maolai) have achieved breakthroughs in lithography objective lenses, reaching the 90-nanometer node. Motic's ultra-precision objective lenses are already installed in i-line lithography machines.
In contrast, the DUV objective lenses Zeiss supplies to ASML support immersion lithography processes capable of sub-7-nanometer resolution.
The gap between them involves more than just precision. Thin-film coating, adaptive optics, and polarization control-each represents a formidable barrier in its own right.
When it comes to EUV technology, the gap is so vast that it can no longer be measured merely in "years."
The True Barrier Is Not Technology; It Is Time
Zeiss was founded in 1846.
Over the course of 180 years, the company has accumulated more than just patents-including over 1,500 in the semiconductor field-it has built a system that operates with near-flawless reliability.
Domestic manufacturers can grind a single mirror to high precision. What Zeiss achieves, however, is consistent precision across every single unit, maintained over decades.
What does this mean?
It means that TSMC, Samsung, and Intel are willing to stake tens of billions of dollars in production capacity on Zeiss lenses, because they can reliably predict their manufacturing yields.
Domestic optical manufacturers occasionally achieve breakthroughs in specific areas. However, the progression from "being able to make it" to "stable mass production" and finally to "earning the customer's trust to entrust you with their livelihood" involves years of trial, error, and validation at every step.
ASML and Zeiss have already mapped out their technology roadmaps through 2040. This is not merely a partnership; it is a symbiotic relationship.
One leg is running ahead, while the other is in pursuit.
The current state of China's optics industry is unique.
In the consumer market, we are leading the pack. In the high-end market, we are playing catch-up.
The 344 billion yuan Phase III of the "Big Fund" is targeting critical "chokepoint" technologies. Companies like Yongxin, Sunny Optical, and Mulai are making continuous breakthroughs in their respective sectors.
Yet, there are things that money alone cannot solve.
Consider the cleanroom at the Zeiss factory in Oberkochen-ten thousand times cleaner than an operating room; the manufacturing system that has been operating for nearly two centuries; the team of engineers honed over decades of collaboration-
These are assets built up over time.
Catching up is not a 100-meter dash that can be shortened simply by throwing money at it. It is a marathon.
The good news is that we are already on the track. And in some lanes, we have already surged into the lead.
