CHENGDU - China has approved a high-resolution lithography machine that can produce chips as small as 22 nanometers, according to its developer.

The machine was developed by the Institute of Optics and Electronics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. With double exposure technology, it is expected to manufacture 10-nanometer chips in the future.

Lithography machines are crucial to chip production, and China has long been lagging behind in this field.

According to Hu Song, deputy chief designer of the machine, the new equipment adopted nanolithography technology and has completely independent intellectual property rights.

It is an important tool for the production of chips, metamaterials and third-generation optics, Hu said.

Some devices related to this lithography machine have already been applied in many important research projects conducted by universities and research institutes such as the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.