The control of semiconductor companies and foundries in a country has direct implications for the economy of all of those adjacent industries, which today are virtually all. The world needs more and more technology, more chips, more devices and as such, whoever dominates semiconductors dominates the world. Therefore, China deals another blow to its rivals by announcing a high volume production for its 14 nm.
From 28 nm to 14 nm in just two years, China shows its strength
China cannot and does not want to compete in high-tech processes like Intel and TSMC do, but in return its strategy focuses on the rest of the world and especially on its problems within its borders. The economic independence she seeks is poised to become a reality as she helps her two foundries deliver cost-effective, powerful and energy-efficient chips for industries such as automotive, smartphones and IoT.
SMIC and HHS are currently top manufacturers in terms of total wafer and chip volume per year, but they were stuck at 28nm, at least so far, as SMIC went ahead and announced that the problems with their 14 nm. They are resolute and ready to prepare. the production ramp. Specifically, Dr Haijun Zhao and Dr Liang Mong Song made these statements in their announcement:
“Planar capacity will continue to be fully loaded until the end of the year, with new capacity mainly being built in the second half of this year. In the first quarter, FinFET revenue increased sequentially from a low point, and new projects already on tape are becoming more attractive.
Although we are facing some technical difficulties with our 14nm, we have seen hope and success. The rapid development of localization of fleas 14 nm and even 28nm means we adopt a strategy of gradual evolution and use mature technology to meet general chip needs. We do not blindly pursue high level manufacturing processes, so we pay more attention to packaging design and optimization, and we trade time for semiconductor applications and for the whole industrial chain.
More and more companies want to work on chip design
This announcement provokes the creation of more and more chip design companies, because the industry needs specialization and this requires chips with specific functionalities and especially in China and for China.
5G and AI will energize businesses in terms of economic benefits, as all related industries will need components, chips and ultimately semiconductors to create their products. Forecasts indicate that China will have a high volume of wafers by the end of next year and that they could enter the 7 nm for 2023, so they are gradually closing the gap with Intel and TSMC, apart from Samsung.
The problem they are facing is that they are currently with FinFET and have to go to GAA and especially EUV. We remember that the only manufacturer of high performance EUV scanners is ASML, a European manufacturer and China claims to not depend on anyone, so it has a major challenge when it comes to taking the next step.
