While Europe was hesitating about whether it could "choke" China, Chinese laboratories had already flattened metal to a thickness only one twenty-thousandth of a human hair. A single atomic-level metal mesh covering the entire area of Beijing is quietly rewriting the rules of the global semiconductor industry.
Zhang Guangyu stood in the laboratory of the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, observing the nearly non-existent metal film through an electron microscope. This was the first time humans had prepared a single-atomic-layer metal, with a thickness only one twenty-thousandth of a human hair. He turned to his team members and said, "This is no longer following; this is redefining the track."
Meanwhile, in the industrial park of Chuan Sha, Shanghai, engineers from Jiwei Technology were adjusting China's first two-dimensional semiconductor engineering verification demonstration process line. Founder Bao Wen Zhong pointed to the equipment in the room and declared, "Within five years, we will achieve equivalent 1-nanometer process using fully domestic equipment."
This was China's chip industry at the beginning of 2026 — no longer just chasing, but building a new technical system.
01 Technological Blockade: The "Dragon-Slaying Sword" of Lithography Machines Meets Physical Bottlenecks
Over the past decade, the focus of global semiconductor industry competition has been almost entirely on lithography machines, the "jewel on the crown of industry." ASML's extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machine, costing as much as 150 million US dollars, has become an essential tool for manufacturing advanced chips.
However, this technological path is facing a fundamental physical limit: quantum tunneling effect.
When transistor sizes shrink to several atomic widths, electrons begin to "pass through walls," causing severe chip heating and power consumption spikes. Overheating phones and fan-blown computers are direct manifestations of this effect. Although lithography machines can carve finer lines, they cannot solve this fundamental physical problem.
At the same time, Western technological blockades against China have become increasingly tight. From equipment to components to technical support, a comprehensive blockade chain has been formed. Their logic is simple and direct: without advanced lithography machines, China cannot manufacture high-end chips.
But this seemingly flawless blockade chain has a fatal blind spot — it assumes that everyone will compete on the same track.
02 Changing Tracks: Peeling Off Atomic Layers from "Compression Cookies"
Chinese research teams chose a completely different path: if the lithography path is getting narrower, why not change the track?
In March 2025, a team from the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, published a breakthrough study in the top international journal "Nature." They successfully prepared various single-atomic-layer metals, with a thickness only one twenty-thousandth of a human hair.
The difficulty of this breakthrough lies in the inherent properties of metals. Metal atoms are tightly connected by strong metallic bonds, like compressed biscuits, making them difficult to separate. Traditional two-dimensional materials such as graphene can be easily separated because their interlayer bonding is weak, like a stack of playing cards.
The research team creatively adopted the "van der Waals squeezing technology," constructing a nanoscale "sandwich" structure: using two layers of atomic thickness materials as upper and lower plates, leaving only a single-atom thickness gap in between.
They precisely injected molten metal atoms into this gap, forcing the metal atoms to spread out in this two-dimensional space, forming a perfect single-atomic-layer metal mesh. This process is like putting metal atoms into "tight clothes," fundamentally determining its two-dimensional shape.
03 The Disruptive Power of "Atomic Metal": Electrons Traveling on a "One-Way Street"
When metal is "flattened" to a single atomic thickness, its physical properties undergo fundamental changes.
In traditional three-dimensional metals, free electrons are like people rushing to get on the subway during rush hour, colliding randomly and generating a lot of heat. This is the core cause of chip heating. However, in single-atomic-layer metals, the movement space of electrons is limited to a two-dimensional plane, and their trajectories become orderly, as if traveling on a carefully planned "one-way street."
This change brings revolutionary advantages:
· Ultra-low power consumption: Tunneling current can be reduced to less than one thousandth of traditional silicon-based devices
· Heat suppression: Reduced electron collisions and minimal energy loss
· Breaking physical limits: Fundamentally bypassing the quantum tunneling effect
This means future chips may no longer need complex cooling systems, allowing phones to last weeks on a single charge, and server rooms no longer requiring massive cooling devices.
04 The Shanghai Roadmap: Five Years from 90nm to Equivalent 1nm
Scientific breakthroughs need industrialization to realize their true value. Just months after the announcement of the single-atomic-layer metal research, more specific industrial progress came from Shanghai.
In January 2026, China's first two-dimensional semiconductor engineering verification demonstration process line was activated in Chuan Sha, Pudong, Shanghai. This demonstration line built by Jiwei Technology was like a miniature integrated circuit factory, equipped with a complete set of semiconductor processing equipment, including lithography machines.
Former Jiwei Technology founder Bao Wen Zhong stated, "What we do is build integrated circuits directly from atoms." Compared to the complicated 1,500-step processing flow required for traditional silicon-based semiconductors, two-dimensional semiconductors can save about 80% of the steps, including complex procedures such as ion implantation and epitaxial growth.
Especially worth noting is that this new technology can even use low-grade lithography machines to achieve the most advanced integrated circuit manufacturing processes. For China, which faces restrictions in extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, this has extremely important strategic significance.
Jiwei Technology's five-year roadmap:
· 2026: Achieve equivalent 90nm CMOS process for silicon-based, manufacturing megabyte-level memory and million-gate-level logic circuits
· 2027: Use mature K-line lithography machines to achieve equivalent 28nm process for silicon-based
· 2028: Achieve equivalent 5nm or 3nm process for silicon-based
· 2029/2030: Based on fully domestic integrated circuit equipment, achieve equivalent 1nm process.
05 National Strategy: Layout of "Root Technologies" for Atomic-Level Manufacturing
China's breakthrough in two-dimensional semiconductors is not an isolated event, but part of a national-level systematic layout.
Atomic-level manufacturing has been listed as one of China's six major future industries, regarded as a "root technology" to break through bottlenecks in industries such as integrated circuits. This technology, which uses atoms as basic units for precise control, achieves atomic-level precision processing through tools such as electrons and photons, belonging to advanced manufacturing technologies in the field of quantum mechanics.
Since 2016, China has started to layout research on atomic-level manufacturing. In 2025, the National Natural Science Foundation Committee released the project guidelines for the major research plan on basic research in atomic-level manufacturing, focusing on core scientific issues such as batch atomic manipulation and structural base element mass transfer.
Academician Wang Guanghou's team at Nanjing University began researching atomic clusters as early as 1984, and in 2023, established the atomic limit micro-manufacturing experimental facility, overcoming core technologies such as high-intensity cluster beam sources. The city of Nanjing has also jointly built an atomic manufacturing research institute with Nanjing University, planning to build an "atomic-level manufacturing future industry pilot zone."
Shanghai has also included atomic-level manufacturing in key technology research and development plans, setting up seven related research projects. This comprehensive layout from central to local levels, from basic research to industrialization, provides a solid foundation for technological breakthroughs.
06 Industrial Applications: From Laboratory to Market
Atomic-level manufacturing and two-dimensional semiconductor technologies are showing transformative potential in multiple fields:
Semiconductor Manufacturing: Domestic companies such as Weidmuller Nanotechnology have made a series of breakthroughs in atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology. The company's revenue increased from 685 million yuan in 2022 to 2.7 billion yuan in 2024, with new orders in the semiconductor sector amounting to approximately 1.483 billion yuan in the first nine months of 2025, representing nearly a doubling year-on-year increase.
New Material Development: Through atomic restructuring, the melting point of nickel powder can be reduced by 300°C, verifying the ability to regulate material performance. This technology can significantly shorten the R&D cycle for new materials and create materials approaching theoretical performance limits.
New Energy and Precision Instruments: Atomic-level catalysts can enhance the catalytic efficiency of nitrogenase, promoting innovations in clean energy technologies; quantum sensors can break through classical physical limits, supporting the development of high-precision detection equipment.
07 International Reactions: German Media's Concerns and Reflections
China's breakthroughs in atomic-level manufacturing and two-dimensional semiconductors are attracting close attention from the international community, especially in Europe.
The German newspaper "Berliner Morgenpost" once published an article stating, "The dependence of German industry on Chinese technology has shifted from simple cooperation to an unbreakable habit." The article mentioned that Chinese products not only have price advantages but are also starting to pull ahead in performance.
German companies have improved production efficiency and reduced costs by using Chinese technology, but they are also beginning to worry about supply chain security. The article sharply pointed out, "If chips or communication modules suddenly become unavailable, the operation of German society might come to a sudden halt."
At the same time, although the German government loudly calls for "risk reduction," the actual actions of German companies are completely opposite. In 2024, Volkswagen invested 2.5 billion euros to expand its R&D center in Hefei; BMW achieved full localization production in Shenyang; and Mercedes-Benz invested 1 billion euros in R&D for autonomous driving technology in Beijing. These investment decisions reflect the basic logic of the market: when it comes to efficiency and innovation, political slogans seem powerless.
A more profound analysis from the German business newspaper "Handelsblatt" pointed out that although the EU holds certain "technological王牌", it dares not use them lightly. Because any unilateral sanctions measures could harm its own enterprises and trigger retaliation. For example, the Dutch government taking over NXP Semiconductors led to supply chain disruptions spreading to the global automotive industry chain.
08 Future Outlook: From Technological Breakthroughs to Industrial Ecosystems
Although China has made significant progress in two-dimensional semiconductors and atomic-level manufacturing, there is still a long way to go from laboratory breakthroughs to a mature industrial ecosystem.
The main challenges currently faced:
· Basic theory: The theory of atomic-level property control and atomic-level confined processing construction remains blank
· Equipment development: The import dependency of high-end characterization equipment exceeds 80%, and the precision of domestic instruments needs improvement
· Industrialization path: The connection between laboratory results and large-scale production is not smooth, and cost control is difficult
Mass production of single-atomic-layer metals still faces many technical challenges: How to ensure consistent performance across each sheet? How to solve long-term oxidation problems? How to integrate with existing chip manufacturing processes? These are all real challenges that must be addressed.
However, Chinese research institutions have planned a clear roadmap. The Chinese Academy of Sciences expects to achieve batch preparation of centimeter-level single-atomic-layer metals by 2027, demonstrating the determination and patience similar to the "Two Bombs and One Satellite" project.
09 Redefinition of the Global Semiconductor Landscape
China's breakthroughs in two-dimensional semiconductors and atomic-level manufacturing are quietly changing the competitive landscape of the global semiconductor industry.
Traditional semiconductor powers still maintain their lead, but the diversification of technological paths offers latercomers the opportunity to overtake. China is no longer merely following the pace of Moore's Law but exploring possibilities beyond it.
Potential technological path differentiation in the global semiconductor industry:
· Traditional Path: Continue to advance the miniaturization of silicon-based chip manufacturing processes, relying on high-end equipment such as EUV lithography machines
· Emerging Path: Develop new materials such as two-dimensional semiconductors and single-atomic-layer metals, reducing reliance on advanced lithography machines
· Integrated Path: Combine new materials with traditional silicon-based technology to leverage their respective advantages
This technological path differentiation will lead to a more diversified global semiconductor industry, no longer dominated by a single technological route.
Chinese academicians are aware that despite the breakthroughs, there are still shortcomings in talent reserves and basic research. Data shows that 85% of relevant field talents choose to work in the United States. How to cultivate and retain top talents is the key to the long-term development of China's semiconductor industry.
10 The Inspiration of Chinese Innovation: Opening New Tracks Amid Blockades
China's breakthroughs in two-dimensional semiconductors and atomic-level manufacturing provide a typical case of achieving innovation amid technological blockades.
The core logic of this process:
· Identify Blockade Blind Spots: Western blockades focus on traditional technological paths, while relatively open to research on new materials and new principles
· Focus on Fundamental Issues: Do not get bogged down in specific equipment like lithography machines, but directly challenge physical limits such as the quantum tunneling effect
· Basic Research First: Start from the fundamental science of atomic-level manufacturing to build a new technological system
· Industry-Academia-Research Collaboration: Closely collaborate between universities, research institutions, and enterprises to accelerate technological transformation
German media both worries and admires this innovative model. On one hand, they are concerned about the deepening dependence of German industry on Chinese technology; on the other hand, they cannot help but acknowledge that China's success in innovation is based on "hard power and efficiency winning the market."
In 2024, Sino-German trade reached 185.9 billion euros, and China once again became Germany's largest trading partner. This data indicates that in the globalized division of labor, technological breakthroughs and market cooperation can coexist.
China's semiconductor breakthrough proves one thing: true innovation often occurs outside the established framework. When the world's attention is focused on the precision competition of lithography machines, Chinese scientists chose a more fundamental issue — how to break physical limits at the material level.
This innovative model is not only applicable to the semiconductor industry but also provides valuable experience for other fields facing technological blockades. It indicates that in today's context of global economic reversal, self-reliance is not isolationism but finding breakthroughs in broader scientific frontiers.
As two-dimensional semiconductor technology moves from the laboratory to industrialization, the global semiconductor industry stands at a crossroads of technological routes. Whether the path China has chosen will succeed remains to be verified by time. But one thing is certain: this quiet technological revolution has already added new possibilities to the future of the global semiconductor industry.
And between the concerns of German media and the breakthroughs of Chinese laboratories, a new technological era is quietly arriving.
Original: toutiao.com/article/7594793659233518123/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.