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posted by martyb on Friday June 14 2019, @07:10PM   Printer-friendly
from the big-impact-from-very-little-things dept.

China Is Still Multiple Generations Behind In Chip Manufacturing

When it comes to the actual foundries China has within its borders, the picture isn't good for the country. Perhaps the most advanced foundry there is owned by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC). A company spokesperson late last year said, "Our 14nm technology will start risk production by 2019, 12nm process development is completed and under customer verification."

Keep in mind how much further along the rest of the world is: TSMC (Taiwan) is already producing high performance AMD CPUs on its 7nm process with low power Apple parts having shipped in 2018, Samsung is readying advanced EUV production lines for NVIDIA's next generation of graphics chips, and Intel is rolling out its 7nm-equivalent this year as well. We even reported yesterday that TSMC is now actively developing its 2nm node!

If China's most advanced foundry is only beginning low-volume 14nm production this year, that would put them about four or five years behind the rest of the world. An eternity in the world of semiconductors.

For now, Huawei is building their world-class and cutting edge SoC, Kirin 980 on TSMC's 7nm process. If they were forced to use SMIC's 14nm process it would force them to regress in both performance and efficiency which would be a death-knell. Currently the Kirin 980 can compete with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855, but should Huawei be forced to fab its chips within its own countries[sic] borders this wouldn't be the case.

[...] It seems Chinese companies will have to do things the old fashioned way and grit their way through the learning curve with using these chip-production tools. One way around this would be to hire talent away from companies with a mature understanding of the technology, but even this is proving difficult.

For instance a Chinese DRAM company CXMT attempted to hire away a top Samsung engineer who had expertise in his field, but a South Korean court blocked the move. Kim Chi-wook headed the company's DRAM design team and would be a home-run hire for any DRAM company lacking knowledge. The court made no qualms about the fact that the engineer getting hired by CXMT would potentially hurt Samsung's competitive edge. They wrote, "Chinese semiconductor companies are estimated to be three years to 10 years behind in technology gap regarding DRAM designing technique."


Original Submission

Related Stories

China's SMIC Produces its First "14nm" FinFET Chips 7 comments

SMIC: 14nm FinFET in Risk Production; China's First FinFET Line To Contribute Revenue by Late 2019

SMIC, the largest contract maker of semiconductors in China, announced this month that it would start commercial production of chips using its 14 nm FinFET manufacturing technology by the end of the year. This is the first FinFET manufacturing line in China, making it a notable development for a country that already houses a significant number of fabs, as the world's leading-edge manufacturers never installed FinFET technology in China for geopolitical and IP reasons. SMIC in turn seems to expect a rather rapid ramp of its 14 nm node, as it anticipates the new manufacturing line will meaningfully contribute to its revenue before the end of the year.

According to SMIC, their 14 nm FinFET manufacturing technology was developed entirely in-house and is expected to significantly increase transistor density, increase performance, and lower power consumption of chips when compared to devices made using the company's 28 nm process that relies on planar transistors. Earlier this year it was expected that SMIC would start production of 14 nm chips already in the first half of 2019, so the firm seems to be a little behind the schedule. Nonetheless, an in-house FinFET process technology is quite a breakthrough for a relatively small company that puts it into a club with just five[*] other foundries with FinFET technologies.

Fin Field-Effect Transistor (FinFET).

[*] SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation) would be joining the ranks of these five other companies with FinFET technology: TSMC, Samsung Electronics, Intel, Global Foundries, and SK Hynix.

Previously: China Lags Behind Other Countries in Semiconductor Manufacturing


Original Submission

China's Largest Semiconductor Foundry Raising $6.55 Billion or More in Funding 11 comments

SMIC – China's Largest Semiconductor Foundry – to Raise Around $6.55 Billion in Fresh Funding as the Company Leverages Its Enhanced Importance

SMIC, the operator of the largest semiconductor foundry in China, has adopted a pivotal role in the ongoing multi-faceted spat between the U.S. and China. The company has become the focal point of a concerted effort by Beijing to maintain a continuous supply of semiconductors to the local industry even as Washington tries to thwart this flow, as evidenced by the Trump administration's efforts to block silicon heavyweights around the globe from delivering semiconductor components to Huawei or its affiliate HiSilicon.

Nonetheless, SMIC appears ready to deploy its added heft in order to secure economic gains. As an illustration, in a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Sunday, the company revealed that it will raise as much as 46.29 billion yuan or $6.55 billion by selling new shares on the exchange at a price of 27.46 yuan per share. Interestingly, the latest financing target is more than double the 20 billion yuan that SMIC originally sought to raise.

[...] As stated earlier, leading Chinese tech enterprise have been subjected to a relentless volley by Washington over the recent months as the multifaceted spat between the U.S. and China continues to escalate. Back in May, the U.S. banned the export of any semiconductor that incorporated American technology to Huawei or its affiliate, HiSilicon. Given these evolving dynamics, Huawei is now increasingly relying upon the silicon components sourced from SMIC for the wide range of its products.

See also: How much trouble is Huawei in?
Intel resumes shipment to Chinese server maker Inspur
Huawei builds up 2-year reserve of 'most essential' US chips

Previously: China Lags Behind Other Countries in Semiconductor Manufacturing
China's SMIC Produces its First "14nm" FinFET Chips
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) Starts "14nm" FinFET Volume Production
How China Plans to Lead the Computer Chip Industry
TSMC Dumps Huawei


Original Submission

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) Starts "14nm" FinFET Volume Production 4 comments

SMIC Begins Volume Production of 14 nm FinFET[*] Chips: China's First FinFET Line:

SMIC has started volume production of chips using its 14 nm FinFET manufacturing technology. The largest contract maker of semiconductors in China is the first company in the country to join the FinFET club, as only a handful of companies have managed to develop fabrication processes that rely on such transistors. SMIC's FinFET line is considerably smaller than those of other foundries, yet the fact that the company is using it is already a big deal for China.

SMIC's previous-generation manufacturing technology is 28 nm, so the 14 nm process tangibly increases transistor density, boosts performance, and lowers power consumption, which naturally enables the company to produce more complex and expensive chips that were otherwise outsourced to its larger rivals. At present, SMIC ramps up production using its 14 nm process technology at one of its 300-mm fabs, so initial volumes are not high. Meanwhile, SMIC's plans include building up a new 300-mm production line for 14 nm and thinner process technologies with a monthly capacity of 35,000 wafer starts per month. Construction of the fab was completed earlier this year and the company is currently installing production equipment.

In addition to ramp of its 1st Generation FinFET platform, SMIC's development of its 12 nm process is well underway and there are customers who plan to use the technology. Furthermore, the company is developing more advanced processes, including those that will require extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) tools, that will be used next decade. In fact, the company has even acquired an EUV step-and-scan system from ASML[**], but it has not been installed so far.

[*] Wikipedia FinFET entry.
[**] ASML home page and Wikipedia entry.

The Chinese GPU manufacturer Jingjia Micro has been reportedly working on a "28nm" GPU that could take on Nvidia's "16nm" GTX 1080. Improved (but not "industry leading") process nodes from SMIC could allow Chinese companies to pump out dirt cheap hardware that can compete favorably with products from the likes of Nvidia, AMD, and Intel. Here's a video (13m37s) about how there could be a 5-way GPU market (Nvidia, AMD, Intel, Jingjia, and ARM).

Previously: China Lags Behind Other Countries in Semiconductor Manufacturing
China's SMIC Produces its First "14nm" FinFET Chips


Original Submission

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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 14 2019, @07:25PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 14 2019, @07:25PM (#855709)

    If they lowball all of the commodity parts vendors out of the market
    who cares if they can't build a high-end part? They will still own
    the world's electronics manufacturing business.

    • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday June 14 2019, @08:58PM

      by bob_super (1357) on Friday June 14 2019, @08:58PM (#855746)

      "My part is 20% slower and warmer, but my spying code is 30% more efficient, and my users have realized they don't need half of the useless fluff you put in your code anyway"

      We're all carrying supercomputers in our pockets, and wasting most of their capabilities.

  • (Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 14 2019, @07:29PM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 14 2019, @07:29PM (#855712)

    Taiwan is part of China.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 14 2019, @07:38PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 14 2019, @07:38PM (#855720)

      Taiwan is still occupied by the US and is ruled by the US appointed military governor. Yes, this position is currently empty, but this does not change the legal fact.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 15 2019, @01:02AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 15 2019, @01:02AM (#855836)

        Yes, this position is currently empty, but this does not change the legal fact.

        China.... concerned about US legal facts... ROFLMAO

    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday June 14 2019, @08:06PM

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Friday June 14 2019, @08:06PM (#855731) Journal

      Comment would have been better if you had said "Chinese Taipei".

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 14 2019, @11:12PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 14 2019, @11:12PM (#855801)

      > Taiwan is part of China.

      Well, yeah, according to the Mainland, but not according to many other countries.

      I call shill from the People's Republic, who knew that our little SN was worth bothering with...

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 14 2019, @11:57PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 14 2019, @11:57PM (#855808)
      That's a delusion that most of the world is pleased to humour the PRC with, but when the rubber meets the road, Taiwan is de facto treated as a distinct country.
      • (Score: 0, Flamebait) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday June 15 2019, @02:06AM

        by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Saturday June 15 2019, @02:06AM (#855859) Homepage

        I have worked for many businesses that also did business in Taiwan, and in some cases I have seen our operations outsourced there. "Almost as cheap as Chinks without being Chinks" is how I would describe them.

        And if you doubt me, look at their mailing addresses:

        8624 ChingChong Street
        837-5309 WongDong business district 34345io345o34i5yoi5y3i
        Tapei, Taiwan 4523457028347582345082347

  • (Score: 2) by legont on Friday June 14 2019, @07:36PM (2 children)

    by legont (4179) on Friday June 14 2019, @07:36PM (#855717)

    The whole "huge trade deficit with China" issue is somewhat misunderstood. Currently all the statistics are done against final assembly point. Since China does it the most, the results are biased toward China.

    Having said that, China will develop to the typical 80% of the US per capita level for sure and as such will be at least twice bigger that the US in all the terms, including the number of aircraft carriers near Washington to make sure Americans have no funny ideas about their debt.

    How this very near future develops is what makes this whole trade war exercise interesting.

    --
    "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 14 2019, @07:48PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 14 2019, @07:48PM (#855722)

      US debt is denominated in US dollars. Makes it kind of easy to inflate the debt away by printing money.

      Have you looked at fed reserve data on money creation since 2008 ?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 15 2019, @01:07AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 15 2019, @01:07AM (#855839)

        US debt is denominated in US dollars petrodollars.

        FTFY

        Makes it kind of easy to inflate the debt away by printing money.

        Not if it makes the Saudis unhappy, no. The moment it happens, they'll switch to petro-other-currency-most-likely-yuan. And then... [soylentnews.org]

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by HiThere on Friday June 14 2019, @07:54PM (3 children)

    by HiThere (866) on Friday June 14 2019, @07:54PM (#855727) Journal

    ISTM, without detailed knowledge, that most of the advantage of electronics can be had within their current levels of expertise. It's true that there are increased advantages with more tightly controlled manufacturing, but the cost rises so much that the advantage is decreased.

    China would probably do better in developing new technologies for the job than in urgently refining their current techniques. Improve things at the most economic rate, but look for different approaches. Photonic computers, spin-based diamond sheets, something. That way they'd be entering at the start, where while the failures are numerous, the profits are immense. And it might obsolete the high-end silicon chips.

    --
    Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday June 14 2019, @08:10PM (2 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Friday June 14 2019, @08:10PM (#855733) Journal

      That probably is a good idea. As silicon scaling continues to slow down, it will be easier to steal the trade secrets and remain competitive. It's the potential 1,000x performance increase from new technologies that has to be found ASAP. The problem is that there are a number of promising technologies and nobody is sure which ones will come out on top.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 14 2019, @08:38PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 14 2019, @08:38PM (#855741)

        "The problem is that there are a number of promising technologies and nobody is sure which ones will come out on top."

        In a long-game mindset, try them all, and the State kills of the ones that fail

      • (Score: 3, Interesting) by c0lo on Saturday June 15 2019, @01:29AM

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Saturday June 15 2019, @01:29AM (#855843) Journal

        It's the potential 1,000x performance increase from new technologies that has to be found ASAP.

        Let me add to this an immutable fact of nature: the lattice constant of Silicon is 5.431Å [wikipedia.org].
        A 5nm gate = 50 atoms in thickness. Guess what happens when you have too few of them in a gate?

        As silicon scaling continues to slow down, it will be easier to steal the trade secrets and remain competitive.

        Translation: it's already easier to steal trade secrets in electronics and the law of diminishing returns guarantees the situation is not gonna improve.

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 2) by archfeld on Friday June 14 2019, @08:33PM (3 children)

    by archfeld (4650) <treboreel@live.com> on Friday June 14 2019, @08:33PM (#855740) Journal

    Why would China bother to follow in our (USA) footsteps making the incremental upgrades to the foundries ? We stepped up/down as technology became available. They will just steal our current tech and skip the now defunct levels and jump to 7nm. The early bird gets the worm, the early predator gets the bird. We need to learn to strike back, soon and hard at the growing infrastructure of China, and we need to develop something to destroy the value of the growing military structure. Some sort of weapon or tech that will render the vast investment in slightly outdated military technology the Chinese have been stockpiling. A hypersonic drone system capable of rendering missiles, aircraft, slow subs, and air craft carriers useless. All that said I do really love me some Chinese food so maybe I'll be OK. Come to think of it I really like Indian food as well, but I draw the line at borscht so I hope Russia's glory days have passed us by.

    --
    For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday June 15 2019, @01:35AM (2 children)

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Saturday June 15 2019, @01:35AM (#855846) Journal

      We need to learn to strike back, soon and hard at the growing infrastructure of China, and we need to develop something to destroy the value of the growing military structure.

      Says someone in a country that couldn't win a war in Iraq or Afghanistan, against armed forces which used guns designed in 1945.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 2) by archfeld on Saturday June 15 2019, @08:13PM

        by archfeld (4650) <treboreel@live.com> on Saturday June 15 2019, @08:13PM (#856060) Journal

        Hard to win a war against a country that has no infrastructure, but I'd say we won in Iraq again Saddam, and we did no worse or better than Russia (Ussr) in Afghanistan. Which wonderful and shining jewel of democracy totally dependent on UN support do you hail from ? All that said I do wish we had learned our lesson from trying to fight the war in Vietnam against a country and people accustomed to living in jungle tunnels with no infrastructure of any kind.

        --
        For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Bot on Sunday June 16 2019, @10:41AM

        by Bot (3902) on Sunday June 16 2019, @10:41AM (#856224) Journal

        Don't be stuck in the 1700s, War is not among nations anymore. So USA waged wars, but USA didn't win nor lose them. People lose, the MIC and the loaners win.

        --
        Account abandoned.
  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by RamiK on Friday June 14 2019, @09:33PM

    by RamiK (1813) on Friday June 14 2019, @09:33PM (#855766)

    Demand for faster SoCs and more RAM has died out years ago. A well priced 14nm SoC with modern video decoding, baseband/wifi and a good camera or three will be more than satisfactory even at the high-end.

    --
    compiling...
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