Electron beam lithography achieves point-by-point direct writing, which is characterized by low efficiency, high cost and import dependence. Zijing Lithography adopts laser interference technology to increase the speed of wafer-level template fabrication by 10 times.
Interference Lithography Solves the Mass Production Pain of Micro-Nano Devices, Zijing Lithography Seeks Financing
Zijing Lithography Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Zijing Lithography") is pushing forward a new round of financing. Founded in 2022 and co-incubated by the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Commission and the Hong Kong Science Park, the company focuses on the research and development of laser interference nanolithography technology, the manufacturing of nanolithography equipment and the provision of high-end micro-nano manufacturing solutions. At present, its commercial equipment has been delivered to customers in the augmented reality display field.
The Dilemma of Electron Beam Lithography: Mass Production of Emerging Micro-Nano Devices Is Waiting for New Tools
Micro-nano optical devices are moving from laboratories to large-scale mass production. Emerging applications such as augmented reality displays, 3D sensors, vehicle-mounted optics and biochips put forward high-frequency, low-cost and high-consistency manufacturing requirements for large-area periodic nanostructures including metasurfaces, diffraction gratings and nanoimprint templates.
The current mainstream high-precision nanopatterning tool is electron beam lithography. Its point-by-point direct writing mode has low efficiency and high cost in wafer-level template preparation, and the relevant equipment has long relied on imports. The delivery cycle and maintenance costs further raise the industry threshold. Taking wafer-level template preparation as an example, the traditional electron beam solution takes hours or even days, with expensive single processing cost, which is difficult to support the rapid iteration of emerging devices in the stages of R&D verification and small-batch trial production.
The market space is expanding rapidly. According to data from Grand View Research, the global optical metasurface market reached about 170 million US dollars in 2025, and is expected to increase to about 650 million US dollars by 2033, with a compound annual growth rate of about 17.8%. Under the policy background of domestic substitution of semiconductor equipment and independent control of key core technologies, alternative lithography tools with the advantages of high efficiency and low cost have clear industrial value.
From Interference Fringes to Wafer-Level Equipment: The Engineering Path of Laser Interference Lithography
The technical solution of Zijing Lithography is based on the principle of laser interference lithography: multiple coherent lasers interfere on the surface of photoresist to form fine fringes, which can expose large-area periodic nanostructures at one time without the need for masks, taking into account the advantages of resolution, efficiency and cost. The company is the first in the world to engineer this technology into automated wafer-level equipment, and the related achievements won the Gold Award at the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions in 2022.
According to the company's disclosure and the exhibition materials of the China International Optoelectronic Exposition (CIOE), compared with imported electron beam lithography equipment, the laser interference lithography machine of Zijing Lithography is more than 10 times as efficient as the electron beam lithography machine in completing one wafer-level template production, with the cost only 1/10 of that of the latter. At present, the company has formed product lines such as VIL1000 full-automatic step-and-repeat laser interference lithography machine and GIL2000 compact desktop laser interference lithography machine, covering the whole process scenarios from R&D proofing to mass production OEM.
In terms of business model, Zijing Lithography adopts the two-wheel drive of "equipment sales + manufacturing services": on the one hand, it sells laser interference lithography equipment to customers, on the other hand, it provides one-stop high-end micro-nano manufacturing services from concept verification, small-batch trial production to mass production OEM, and undertakes custom proofing of nanoimprint templates, ultra-thin metal grid masks and micro-nano devices. The company owns 4 U.S. invention patents, 3 PCT patents and a number of applications under examination, covering innovative micro-nano processing technologies and their applications.
Led by the Team from the University of Hong Kong, the Equipment Has Been Delivered to AR Display Customers
The R&D team of Zijing Lithography mainly comes from Princeton University in the United States, the University of Hong Kong and Tsinghua University, with nearly 20 years of technical accumulation in the fields of nanolithography, nanoimprint and micro-nano processing. The core technology of the company originates from the team of Professor Li Wendi from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Hong Kong —— Li Wendi graduated from Tsinghua University with a bachelor's degree, then went to Princeton University in the United States to study under Professor Stephen Y. Chou, the inventor of nanoimprint technology and academician of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, and was once engaged in the R&D of advanced lithography processes at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, before joining the University of Hong Kong to lead the research related to micro-nano manufacturing.
At this stage, Zijing Lithography has taken the first step of commercialization: its commercial laser interference lithography equipment has been delivered to augmented reality display enterprises for use, and has appeared in industry exhibitions such as the 2026 China International Optoelectronic Exposition. The company is registered in Bao'an District, Shenzhen, with a registered capital of 3 million RMB, and is wholly owned by its Hong Kong affiliated company InterLitho Innovation Limited. Its legal representative is Zhou Zhongwei. The person in charge of the team also once participated in industry-university-research docking activities such as "Sci-Tech Bao'an · Talent Gathering" in Bao'an District as the enterprise representative.
Zijing Lithography is pushing forward a new round of financing, and the funds will be used for mass production and delivery of equipment, production line construction and market expansion. Driven by both the mass production demand of micro-nano optical devices and domestic substitution, this university-incubated lithography equipment enterprise is trying to provide a faster and more cost-effective nanopatterning path for emerging device manufacturers.