Russia Just Created Plasma That Emits Extreme Ultraviolet Light — And It Could Reinvent Microchip Manufacturing

Superhot plasma, engineered in Siberia, might be the key to Russia’s next-gen lithography tools — and a bold play in the chip race

Russian physicists have successfully created a dense, high-temperature plasma capable of emitting extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation — the kind of light invisible to the human eye but essential to the future of semiconductors. Built at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics in Novosibirsk, this plasma could power a new generation of domestic lithography systems — the machines that etch the brainpower into microchips.

In today’s semiconductor manufacturing, EUV is the holy grail. It allows chipmakers to etch features onto silicon wafers at scales smaller than a virus. But generating it stably and efficiently? That’s been one of the biggest bottlenecks in chip fabrication.

Lighting the Future with Plasma

The Russian research team has found a novel way to create and confine the plasma needed for EUV output. By using pulsed, periodic radiation and keeping the plasma tightly constrained in volume, they’ve built a source that not only works — but could scale.

The next step? Boosting its power output two to four times — enough to make it viable for real-world lithography systems.

Beyond Labs, Into Microelectronics

This isn’t just academic. The tech is expected to find a home in compact semiconductor systems, including those powered by high-frequency microwave oscillators. Since these devices emit radiation in tight, focused beams, the ability to control EUV with this kind of plasma could dramatically expand their utility.

For a country looking to reduce its dependence on foreign semiconductor tools, this is more than a physics win — it’s a strategic leap. With homegrown plasma-based EUV sources, Russia is sketching its own path in microelectronics — one pulse of light at a time.