Chinese start-up claims nanoimprint tech can mass-produce optical chips without ASML gear
Prinano says it validated mass production of photonic chips on 8-inch wafers without conventional lithography tools, at about one-tenth the cost.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
Hangzhou-based Prinano says it has used nanoimprint lithography to make 8-inch optical chip wafers with Shenzhen Litra Technology while avoiding deep ultraviolet lithography. The company frames the process as a cheaper path for photonic chips used in optical communication, sensing and lidar.
Prinano says it found a cheaper way to make special light-based chips, like finding a shortcut that skips an expensive machine. It could help make some chip parts more affordable, but people still need to see if the shortcut works well in big factories.
Analysis
What Prinano says it achieved
Prinano, a start-up based in Hangzhou, says it has validated mass production of photonic chips on 8-inch silicon wafers using a process that does not rely on conventional lithography tools. In a WeChat post, the company said it worked with Shenzhen Litra Technology and “completely avoided” deep ultraviolet lithography, or DUV.
The company says the production used its PL-AS vacuum air-cushion nanoimprint lithography equipment, along with customised double-layer imprinting materials and core processes. According to Prinano, the method could reduce chip manufacturing costs to about one-tenth of traditional DUV-based solutions.
Why the claim matters
The chips in question are photonic chips, which are used in optical communication, sensing and lidar applications. In that sense, the result is being presented as more than a laboratory demo: Prinano is describing wafer-level production, which is the point at which a process becomes commercially meaningful.
The timing also matters. The article notes that some DUV machines from ASML, as well as the company’s more advanced EUV systems, have been banned from export to China. A working alternative could therefore give China’s chipmaking sector another path for certain optical chip products.
The open question
The piece also makes clear that there is debate over nanoimprint lithography’s real value, especially when it comes to volumes, yields and whether it can work well beyond photonic chips. Prinano said last year that it had delivered what it described as China’s first semiconductor NIL system to a domestic customer, suggesting the company has been trying to commercialise the technology for some time.
For now, the story is a claim of progress, not proof of broad industrial replacement. The key question is whether this method can hold up at scale, with consistent yields, and whether it can be extended beyond a narrow set of optical chip uses.
Key points
- Prinano says it validated mass production of photonic chips on 8-inch wafers.
- The company says its process avoids deep ultraviolet lithography entirely.
- Prinano claims the method could cut manufacturing costs to about one-tenth of traditional DUV-based solutions.
- The chips are used in optical communication, sensing and lidar.
- The article notes ongoing debate about nanoimprint lithography’s yields, volumes and broader usefulness.
If Prinano’s process works reliably at scale, it could lower the cost of making photonic chips and reduce dependence on scarce imported lithography tools. That would give China’s chip sector a practical fallback for some optical-chip manufacturing.
The article says the technology’s real value is still debated, especially on volume and yield. If nanoimprint lithography cannot scale cleanly or prove useful beyond a narrow set of photonic chips, the cost advantage may stay limited to a niche.
