The U.S. Commerce Department seems to have thrown a big spanner into the NVIDIA machinery, by informing the company that some US$5 billion worth of AI chip orders for China falls under the latest US export restrictions. The orders are said to have been heading for Alibaba, ByteDance and Baidu, as we...
Actually, it’s more complex than that. Since the United States government, and domestic companies was essential in the development of technology related to the laser-produced plasma (LPP) light source for EUV.
The development of extreme-ultraviolet lithography (EUV) heavily involved complex, collaborative effort funded by United States government, Notably, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories, including Livermore, Berkeley, and Sandia, have played a significant role in supporting EUV technology. These efforts spanned several decades, driven by public-private partnerships under Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADA) that manifested as a consortium of private companies and the Labs such as the ultraviolet Limited Liability Company (EUV LLC), and United States Advanced Lithography (USAL), Additionally, it also received substantial resources from prior laser programs such as the infamous Strategic Defence Initiative (“Star Wars”).
https://www.semiconductoronline.com/doc/euv-llc-enters-development-agreement-with-new-0001
ASML played a direct and integral role in these various initiatives related to extreme-ultraviolet lithography (EUV). Additionally, the company made numerous acquisitions, including the purchase of two prominent United States-based companies: Silicon Valley Group (SVG) and Cymer in 2013. These acquisitions were particularly significant as they incorporated cutting-edge technology developed through these collaborative programs in the EUV field.
https://www.laserfocusworld.com/detectors-imaging/article/16565459/asml-to-buy-extremeuv-lightsource-maker-cymer
https://www.eetimes.com/darpa-ends-litho-aid-at-critical-juncture-for-maskless/
ASML could theoretically sell to China, they would however be blocked from using the laser-produced-plasma (LPP) Extreme ultraviolet light source from ASML USA based subsidiary that are associated with Cymer. They would be unable to sell to the United States market.