China claims progress in chip production despite tougher US restrictions: report
Companies like SMEE are busy developing machines that can close the gap with suppliers like ASML Holding NV. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
By Gao Yuan
China claims to have made a breakthrough in developing its own chip-making equipment, a major step toward circumventing U.S. sanctions that were designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals.
State-owned organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in an announcement this month. While the note does not specify the supplier, the specification marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co. — which was around 90nm.
Chipmaking equipment is one of the major bottlenecks in China’s semiconductor ambitions, which the U.S. is trying to contain. Companies like SMEE are busy developing machinery that could close the gap with suppliers like ASML Holding NV, which are now banned from shipping to China. The progress claimed by MIIT last week suggests that domestic rivals are beginning to make progress in developing more advanced machinery, though SMEE and its peers still have a long way to go to catch up with companies like ASML.
The resolution of the gear determines the scale at which integrated circuits can be printed on silicon, and ASML’s top lithography machines now have a resolution of around 8nm. One approach to improving transistor density is to etch lower-resolution patterns multiple times, as Huawei Technologies Co. uses, which helps close the gap. Still, a U.S.-led trade campaign to limit China’s access to advanced chips and chipmaking equipment has stifled its competitiveness in developing emerging technologies such as AI, which require the most advanced semiconductors.
In its memo, MIIT also mentioned a range of additional self-developed chip equipment that it wanted to see deployed more widely, including oxidation furnaces and dry etching equipment.
Chinese semiconductor makers rarely provide clear insight into their chip technology, as the segment has been designated by Beijing as “strategically critical” to national security. SMEE has succeeded in developing a lithography machine that can be used to make 28nm chips, major state financier Zhangjiang Group said in 2023. It is unclear whether that machine has gone into production, nor how it compares to last week’s announcement from MIIT.
While many believe China will struggle to advance beyond its current level of sophistication, as evidenced by Huawei’s 7nm Kirin chip introduced a year ago, the lack of transparency in Washington has raised concerns about the effectiveness of the trade restrictions.
The Biden administration has imposed sweeping export controls on China and has also pressured the Netherlands to demand tighter restrictions on ASML’s Chinese operations. China has relied on ASML’s immersion deep ultraviolet lithography systems to advance its chip technology, having not yet been able to develop similarly capable equipment.
First publication: Sep 16, 2024 | 10:39 PM IST