Russia has made a major leap toward reducing its reliance on imported semiconductor manufacturing technology by developing its first domestic excimer laser prototypes for photolithography. In August 2026, companies affiliated with the Moscow-based Lassard group produced experimental samples of a technology essential for manufacturing microelectronics at process nodes of 65 nanometers and below.
From Soviet Scientific Breakthrough to Industrial Dependence
The development is of particular importance due to the fact that excimer-laser technology was first developed in Russia.
Nikolai Basov and his colleagues at the P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow unveiled the world’s first excimer laser in 1971, following its development in the Soviet Union in 1970.
However, Russia failed to establish mass production of the powerful excimer lasers necessary for semiconductor photolithography, despite this early scientific breakthrough. Foreign manufacturers eventually dominated the technology that originated in the Soviet Union.
Currently, a limited number of companies manufacture high-power excimer lasers that are used in advanced lithography. The global market for high-power ArF immersion laser systems is mainly dominated by Japan’s GigaPhoton and America’s Cymer, which is a member of the Dutch ASML group.
This concentration posed a major obstacle for nations that were actively seeking to establish independent semiconductor manufacturing capabilities.
Lassard’s Long Development Programme
For several years, Russia has been trying to reestablish this capability.
In 2021, the Lassard group started the development of excimer lasers for lithography. Two demonstration models had been produced by its Optosystems subsidiary by 2023.
Nevertheless, the transition from laboratory prototypes to completely developed experimental systems was challenging due to the absence of domestic lithography machines in Russia, which were expected to be used to operate these lasers.
This led to the development of a technological bottleneck. The development of the laser was challenging in the absence of a broader lithography ecosystem, and the development of the lithography system was equally challenging in the absence of a domestic laser source.
Russia Begins Building Its Own Lithography Ecosystem
The situation began to shift as Russian organizations expedited the development of indigenous photolithography equipment.
There are two principal initiatives that are particularly significant. The Zelenograd Nanotechnology Center is in the process of creating lithography systems that are designed to accommodate process technologies that are 130, 90, and eventually 65 nanometers.
Simultaneously, the Institute for Physics of Microstructures of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Nizhny Novgorod is developing more ambitious lithography technologies.
Lassard has gained the missing infrastructure necessary to transition its excimer lasers from laboratory demonstrations to practical industrial systems as a result of the development of domestic lithographers.
The 193-Nanometer Breakthrough
The breakthrough came in 2026.
Lassard created two excimer lasers that operate at a wavelength of 193 nanometers as part of the Progress 130 initiative. This wavelength is of particular significance due to the widespread use of 193-nanometer ultraviolet lasers in deep-ultraviolet photolithography.
The achievement marks an important transition from simply demonstrating the underlying technology to integrating it into an actual semiconductor manufacturing system.
The significance of the program had been previously emphasized by Russian officials. During a visit to Lassard’s Troitsk production facility in September 2024, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Vasily Shpak stated that the group was the sole Russian organization that was independently developing this type of technology.
Testing was scheduled for 2025, and two samples had already been manufactured at that time.
Domestic Lithography Reaches the Testing Stage
By August 2026, the development had progressed substantially further.
Russia completed the third stage of development work on a domestic photolithography system designed for 130-nanometer process technology. The Russian semiconductor market is relatively small, and the system employs 200-millimeter wafers, which is deemed appropriate.
The Lassard excimer lasers are reported to have successfully completed testing and exhibited characteristics that are comparable to those of their foreign counterparts.
A dedicated measurement and control test stand and photomasks that were developed domestically have also been produced by the project.
This means Russia is no longer developing an isolated laser. An entire semiconductor lithography ecosystem is in the process of being assembled around it.
Why the Laser Matters
An excimer laser is fundamentally a high-power ultraviolet gas laser. It is the light source necessary for the transfer of incredibly small circuit patterns from photomasks onto silicon wafers in semiconductor manufacturing.
Excimer lasers are extensively used in ophthalmology for vision-correction procedures, in addition to their applications in semiconductors.
Nevertheless, the significance of semiconductor manufacturing is much higher.
Sophisticated photolithography equipment is incapable of operation in the absence of an appropriate high-power ultraviolet light source. This renders the excimer laser a critical component of the semiconductor production chain.
Commercial Production Could Begin Soon
Commercialization, however, remains ahead.
Commercial discussions with the Zelenograd Nanotechnology Center are expected to begin in 2027, as the Russian lithography project is reportedly operating several months behind schedule.
It is estimated that the cost of a single lithography machine is approximately 542.2 million rubles. In the next five to seven years, Russia is expected to require between 15 and 25 of these systems for domestic use.
For excimer lasers themselves, the reported plan is to begin serial production after 2026, initially producing at least five units annually.
That would represent a dramatic change from the previous situation, in which Russia was entirely reliant on foreign suppliers for this critical technology.
Imported Materials Remain a Weak Point
The achievement does not mean that Russia has eliminated all external dependencies.
One of the major remaining challenges is the availability of optical materials. Some specialized optical materials are still imported, despite the demonstration of domestic laser system production.
If Russia aims to expand production substantially, that dependence could become a major constraint.
Building a truly independent semiconductor ecosystem therefore requires more than manufacturing the laser itself. Russia will require domestic sources for specialized optics, materials, electronics, precision components, and other technologies necessary to sustain industrial production.
A Potential Third Producer
The importance of the 2026 prototypes should not be overlooked, despite these constraints.
Russia is not yet challenging the world’s most advanced semiconductor manufacturing technologies. In the current global semiconductor industry, a 130-nanometer lithography platform is far from the cutting edge.
But technological sovereignty does not necessarily begin at the cutting edge.
It begins by rebuilding previously unavailable capabilities.
Russia is currently making efforts to bridge the gap between scientific innovation and industrial production, more than five decades after Soviet scientists developed the excimer laser.
Russia could become the third country to have domestic mass production of excimer lasers for semiconductor photolithography if Lassard’s experimental systems can be transformed into reliable serial-production machines.
The immediate objective may be 130 nanometers. The more significant objective is significantly more significant: the establishment of an industrial foundation that will enable Russia to progress toward a more self-sufficient semiconductor industry and smaller process nodes in the future.