From Fortune:

Japanese company Canon is making a move to challenge Europe’s ASML for dominance in the semiconductor industry by developing new technology to produce advanced chips at a lower cost. Canon has spent a decade testing this nanoimprint lithography technology, which it claims can already produce 5nm chips and aims for the most cutting-edge 2nm chips.

Canon is working to develop cheaper alternatives to the extremely expensive chipmaking machines currently produced by Dutch company ASML. These machines are vital for producing the most advanced 5-nanometer or smaller chips, and can cost over $150 million each.

Despite being more known for cameras and printers, Canon has a history of manufacturing semiconductor equipment and is now seeking to enter the space with a potentially groundbreaking new technology for chip production.

Recent market changes and international restrictions pose a challenge to Canon’s efforts to bring this new technology to market, however, especially in Chinese markets due to US-led limitations on export of advanced technology and Taiwan’s restriction of some ASML product sales to China. This, combined with an industry heavily optimized to work with already popular EUV technology, puts Canon’s new nanoimprint lithography technology in a challenging position.



Read more: Canon targets ASML with new cheaper lithography technology