A group of European countries, led by the Netherlands, is preparing a follow-up to the 2023 European Chips Act after the original version fell short of strengthening the region's semiconductor industry. According to Reuters, the coalition — which includes France, Germany, Italy, and Spain — aims to present concrete proposals to the European Commission (EC) by summer. The move follows calls from chipmakers and semiconductor equipment manufacturers for renewed funding and strategic support.

Dutch Economy Minister Dirk Beljaarts emphasized the need for a more effective funding strategy, combining public and private investments to support not only major corporations but also small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Beljaarts noted that the previous Chips Act's slow approval processes left projects stalled, contributing to delays in major facilities planned by Intel and Wolfspeed.

Europe remains a powerhouse in semiconductor R&D and chipmaking equipment, with key players like ASML, ASM International, and Zeiss. However, advanced chip manufacturing still lags behind regions like the U.S. and Asia. The new initiative seeks to close that gap while ensuring smaller companies benefit from trickle-down effects.

Meanwhile, technological breakthroughs may further reshape the global chip landscape. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have developed a solid-state deep ultraviolet (DUV) laser that emits coherent 193-nm light — a critical wavelength for semiconductor lithography. Traditionally, this light is generated using argon fluoride (ArF) excimer lasers, employed by ASML, Canon, and Nikon in their DUV lithography machines.

The CAS prototype replaces gas-based lasers with a solid-state system. It starts with a Yb:YAG crystal amplifier generating a 1030-nm beam, which is split into two paths. One path undergoes fourth-harmonic generation (FHG) to create a 258-nm beam, while the other produces a 1553-nm beam via an optical parametric amplifier. These beams are then combined using lithium triborate (LBO) crystals to produce coherent 193-nm light.

The CAS system achieves a narrow linewidth below 880 MHz — comparable to commercial excimer-based systems — but its output power of 70 mW at 6 kHz falls significantly short of industry standards, where ASML's systems operate at 100–120W and 9 kHz. While promising, the technology is still in early development, requiring substantial improvements to meet the high-throughput demands of semiconductor manufacturing.

With Europe aiming to revamp its semiconductor strategy and breakthroughs like CAS's solid-state laser pushing the boundaries of lithography technology, the global race for chip innovation continues to intensify.