Russia’s Zelenograd Nanotechnology Center (ZNTC) has finished the third R&D stage of its first domestically developed lithography tool, a step-and-repeat system capable of processing 200-mm wafers at the 130nm node. The prototype is now undergoing internal engineering and acceptance testing, according to reports cited by Tom’s Hardware. While the project is led by ZNTC, Belarus-based Planar developed the lithography system itself, with lasers supplied by Lassard; ZNTC handled overall system design, projection-lens calculations, and process modeling.
The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade allocated roughly $70 million for the program. Each 130nm stepper is estimated to cost $6.7 million, plus about $600,000 for the laser source, bringing a single tool to around $7.3 million. For context, ASML’s PAS 5500/150 stepper had a list price of $3.1 million when launched in Q1 2001, equivalent to about $5.8 million in 2026 dollars. Intel and AMD adopted 130nm manufacturing in 2001 and 2002, respectively, meaning the Russian tool trails leading-edge equipment by roughly 25 years.
Despite the milestone, the machine is still an engineering prototype, delivered five months late, and will need extensive validation of imaging, overlay, reliability, and throughput before chipmakers can qualify it. Even then, integration into existing Russian 130nm-class nodes—which currently rely on ASML lithography—remains unclear. A realistic timeframe for processing commercial wafers is around 2029 at the earliest, and limited production of the steppers themselves should not be mistaken for readiness for volume semiconductor manufacturing.