The first Russian lithographer, developed for serial production, has already found a specific buyer. The 350 nm resolution unit is to be acquired by "Mapper" from Rostec Group. The price of the basic version is hundreds of millions of rubles.

Lithographer needed for microchip production

A lithographer transfers the circuit image from a photomask onto a semiconductor wafer, from which integrated circuits are then manufactured. The Russian unit was developed by the Zelenograd Nanotechnology Center (ZNTC) together with the Belarusian company "Planar".

As CNews learned, the first serial lithographer with 350 nm resolution will be delivered to the customer in December 2026. The buyer will be "Mapper" – a microelectronics manufacturer operating as part of Rostec. Sources close to the company and the Ministry of Industry and Trade told the publication about this.

The second serial lithographer after "Mapper" will be received by "Otraslevye Resheniya", part of the Element group. The contract was known back in September 2025.

Dmitry Kalbazov, head of REA product manufacturing at ZNTC, previously spoke about two commercial contracts for the supply of lithographers at the ExpoElectronica-2026 exhibition.

"Mapper" is a MEMS factory in Technopolis "Moscow"

The company specializes in contract manufacturing of silicon-based sensitive elements using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology.

The enterprise has 1500 sq. m of clean rooms, over 30 units of equipment, and about 70 specialists. Production capacity is up to 5000 wafers per year.

The company was founded in 2012 as a subsidiary of the Dutch holding Mapper Lithography. Since April 2022, "Mapper" has been owned by AO "OKB "Astron", which is part of the Shvabe holding of the Rostec state corporation.

Together with "Astron", "Mapper" participates in a project of the Ministry of Industry and Trade for the serial production of infrared matrices for drones and thermal imagers.

By 2028, Russia plans to establish the production of about 11.5 thousand infrared detectors per year. Billions of rubles are allocated for the project: each of the six workshops in the production chain is allocated from 4 billion to 15 billion rubles.

What the Russian lithographer can do

The ZNTC unit is designed for the production of very large integrated circuits with a topological norm of 350 nm. Such technologies are used in power electronics, automotive electronics, and industrial systems.

The unit has a working field of 22×22 mm and can process wafers up to 200 mm in diameter.

Instead of a traditional mercury lamp, the lithographer uses a solid-state laser. According to the developers, this allows for higher power and increased energy efficiency of the equipment.

The basic version of the unit costs 392 million rubles without VAT. With extended service and a five-year additional warranty, the price reaches 561 million rubles.

At the same time, similar foreign equipment, according to CNews, costs 40–60% more. The productivity of the Russian unit is up to 63 wafers with a diameter of 150 mm or up to 43 wafers with a diameter of 200 mm per hour.