Tuesday, February 6th 2024
SMIC Reportedly Ramping Up 5 Nanometer Production Line in Shanghai
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) is preparing new semiconductor production lines at its Shanghai facilities according to a fresh Reuters report—China's largest contract chip maker is linked to next generation Huawei SoC designs, possibly 5 nm-based Kirin models. SMIC's newest Shanghai wafer fabrication site was an expensive endeavor—involving a $8.8 billion investment—but their flagship lines face a very challenging scenario with new phases of mass production. Huawei, a key customer, is expected to "upgrade" to a 5 nm process for new chip designs—their current flagship, Kirin 9000S, is based on a SMIC 7 nm node. Reuter's industry sources believe that the foundry's current stable of "U.S. and Dutch-made equipment" will be deployed to "produce 5-nanometer chips."
Revised trade rulings have prevented ASML shipping advanced DUV machinery to mainland China manufacturing sites—SMIC workers have reportedly already repurposed the existing inventory of lithography equipment for next-gen pursuits. Burn Lin (ex-TSMC), a renowned "chip guru," believes that it is possible to mass produce 5 nm product on slightly antiquated gear (previously used for 7 nm)—but the main caveats being increased expense and low yields. According to a DigiTimes Asia report, mass production of a 5 nm SoC on SMIC's existing DUV lithography would require four-fold patterning in a best case scenario.
Sources:
Reuters, Wccftech, DigiTimes (image source), GizChina
Revised trade rulings have prevented ASML shipping advanced DUV machinery to mainland China manufacturing sites—SMIC workers have reportedly already repurposed the existing inventory of lithography equipment for next-gen pursuits. Burn Lin (ex-TSMC), a renowned "chip guru," believes that it is possible to mass produce 5 nm product on slightly antiquated gear (previously used for 7 nm)—but the main caveats being increased expense and low yields. According to a DigiTimes Asia report, mass production of a 5 nm SoC on SMIC's existing DUV lithography would require four-fold patterning in a best case scenario.
8 Comments on SMIC Reportedly Ramping Up 5 Nanometer Production Line in Shanghai
Its going to be a costly endeavour I reckon. One that is not economically viable. And for what exactly, because there isnt a single 5nm chip doing the impossible. Its just a shrunk 7nm. You wont enable jack all with that. Yay 20% less power? 300 mhz on top? Who cares?
www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/29/evergrande-collapse-liquidation-china-debt-developer-property-giant
And I still don't quite get what's good about having CCTV on 5nm rather than 7nm. Or a server. You do that, exactly to get... an economical advantage over a 7nm chip. But if you lose all that advantage because you're tossing away half the production a fab can reasonably have, is it still saving power for example? Is it still bringing chips to market faster than you can print them on 7nm?
The answer is no. Yield is everything.
Another advantage China doesn't have is the experience they build... on DUV. The tech is EOL. So all this effort serves primarily to give the US the short term (gut feeling) middle finger and say they can make 5nm. Well, again... gl with that. Its dead in the water. Prestige project. If they mass produce these they create their own economical black hole.
Evergrande has proven to the world that China isn't in control if the economy isn't in their favor. What should sink, will eventually sink, no matter how much autoritarian power Xi throws at it.
Time will tell if this is not the next bubble :)
Thing is, we might also be in one, called AI.