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Planet Money

The strange way the world's fastest microchips are made

Nov 13, 2024 · 26m
AI Summary
  • Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) is a breakthrough technology that enables production of the world's most advanced microchips used in AI and other applications.
  • Only one company, Dutch firm ASML, can manufacture the advanced machines that use laser-vaporized tin droplets to etch circuits finer than DNA strands.
  • The US government restricts these chips from reaching China, and the episode explores how this technological breakthrough nearly didn't happen and was incubated through US innovation.

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