Peter Wennink is in a tricky position. Nearly a decade into his tenure leading one of the most important players in the chip business—the Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML—he is about to help the U.S. further hobble the Chinese semiconductor sector. But depending on how far those efforts go, he could end up damaging his own business in the process.
ASML’s lithography machines are essential for building the most advanced chips—they pattern and etch the intricate layers that make up the billions of tiny circuits on a piece of silicon. For the past few years, the Dutch and U.S. governments have blocked it from exporting its top-of-the-line extreme ultraviolet (EUV) devices to China, because of potential military uses. But over the past half year, the U.S. has also been demanding that ASML stop sending China elements of its next-best equipment, deep ultraviolet (DUV) chipmaking technology, which analysts say can get close to the capabilities of the EUV class.
On the weekend, reports emerged that the U.S. had struck a deal with the Netherlands and with Japan, whose Nikon Corp. also makes DUV equipment. The details remain to be seen, but indications are that the ban won’t be overly broad—just as well, as Wennink warned last week that such a scenario could disrupt supply chains for everything from PCs and cars to smartphones and energy infrastructure.
