The brief

Analyst view

• FEL produces EUV light using a particle accelerator instead of tin, offering higher power and efficiency than ASML.
• December 2025: US Commerce signed letter of intent for $150M federal funding for FEL prototype at Albany.
• Target: 2028 deployment to compete with ASML's monopoly on EUV light sources.

Technical approach

As reported

Light source

Free-electron laser (FEL)

A compact accelerator generates electron beams deflected through a magnetic undulator, emitting coherent EUV at 2nm (vs ASML's 13.5nm).

Size

Compact accelerator design

xLight's accelerator design fits within a fab, roughly 100m × 50m (football-field sized), rather than the several-kilometre-long synchrotrons used in research.

Power

Higher power and efficiency

FEL sources deliver tenfold improvements in photon efficiency compared to ASML's tin-plasma approach, reducing waste heat and electricity demand per exposure.

Wavelength

Shorter wavelengths for finer features

2nm EUV light enables printing at the 1nm node and below, compared to ASML's 13.5nm limit that requires multiple exposures and complex technique.

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