① The “lithography machine” concept has once again become the so-called “wealth code”, and now there are related essays blowing up Inno Laser's stock price; ② Inno Laser said “the company currently does not have a lithography machine,” and there are many questions about the content of the online essay; ③ Industry insiders said that at present, there is still a big gap between domestic EUV and foreign countries.
Financial Services Association, March 25 (Reporter Wang Biwei) The “lithography machine” concept has once again become the so-called “wealth code.” Beginning at noon today, a small essay with the words “Don't spread the word” began to circulate in some stock trading WeChat groups. The essay claims that Inno Laser (301021.SZ) is cooperating with Changchun Optoelectronics to conduct lithography machine-related research, and has supplied a leading retouching machine company. Soon, the news spread like wildfire. After the opening of trading in the afternoon, Inno Laser's stock price was quickly boosted, and the intraday rise and stopped for a while. However, this evening, a Financial Services Association reporter called an InnoLaser Securities Department person about this rumor. The person said, “Currently, the company does not have a lithography machine.”
A screenshot of the short essay that went viral on the Internet shows: “Changchun Optoelectronics Institute has always cooperated with Inno Laser. The extreme ultraviolet light source technology (EUV) for the lithography machine 02 is the core lithography company provided by Inno and then supplied by Changchun Optoelectronics to a leading company”. “Previously, Inno mainly cooperated with ASML, and then through partnerships, three Dutch lithography technology experts became executives” “In the future, domestic lithography machine light sources will basically be used by Inno.”
Although “Please don't spread the word” was written with care at the end, this short essay of a few hundred words “The Code of Wealth” has spread rapidly since noon today, and has even spread to the stock market.
What is strange, however, is that after 2:00 p.m., the stock price of Innolaser did not continue to rise, but instead began to decline, narrowing from a high of 17.48% to closing up 8.14%.
In response to the authenticity of this short essay, the Financial Services Association reporter telephoned Inno Laser Securities Affairs Representative tonight. He said, “I have not received this news” and made it clear that “the company currently does not have a lithography machine.”
In fact, part of the essay can be falsified by checking the materials. For example, it claims that Inno Laser “discovered three Dutch lithography technology experts as executives,” but looking through previous regular reports, it can be found that currently, with the exception of the company's founder Zhao Xiaojie, there are very few overseas status or overseas experience in the executive team, and there is no experience related to the Netherlands.
In unproven circumstances, the market's ability to respond so much may be related to the current scarcity of EUV light source technology. An optical research professor at a well-known university in China told the Financial Federation: Currently, there is still a big gap in domestic EUV technology compared to foreign countries; and even if an EUV light source already exists, it still depends on its quality (whether) is sufficient for lithography.
According to our understanding, the EUV light source is one of the most critical and difficult components of an EUV lithography machine. It needs to produce stable, powerful, and reliable extreme ultraviolet light, and can operate continuously. Currently, this technology is provided by Cymer in the US. Cymer is a subsidiary acquired by ASML in 2012, and is currently the only company in the world that can provide commercial EUV light sources.