The technique that Huawei and SMIC are using to manufacture 5 and 7 nm integrated circuits using ASML’s deep ultraviolet (UVP) lithography equipment is a compromise solution. We have talked about multiple patterning in many articles, but it is worth briefly reviewing in this one What is it about before we get into flour. Broadly speaking, it consists of transferring the pattern to the wafer in several passes with the purpose of increasing the resolution of the lithographic process.
Presumably the 5nm semiconductors are being manufactured using a technique that refines the processes used in the multiple patterning conventional. It’s called SAQP (Self-Aligned Quadruple Patterning), and it is nothing more than a multiple patterning more aggressive and sophisticated than the one used to manufacture the 7nm Kirin 9000S SoC. The problem is that these two semiconductor production techniques are far from ideal for maximizing the competitiveness of integrated circuit manufacturing processes.
These two strategies compromise the performance per wafer and the cost of the semiconductors. To manufacture 7, 5 and 3 nm chips, the ideal is to use the extreme ultraviolet (UVE) photolithography equipment produced by the Dutch company ASML, but the sanctions approved by the US and Netherlands governments prevent Chinese semiconductor manufacturers from access them. Thanks to multiple patterning SAQP, SMIC and Huawei are already manufacturing cutting-edge chips, but not under ideal conditions.
Huawei recognizes that China’s effort could already have reached its maximum value
Zhang Ping’an, the general director of Huawei’s subsidiary dedicated to cloud services, made some very interesting statements during the Mobile Networks Conference that took place in Suzhou (China). In reality, what he has done is identify something that we already knew, as we have seen in the previous paragraphs, but what is surprising is that a senior Huawei official publicly recognizes how much it is costing them to manufacture cutting-edge semiconductors.
“TSMC is increasing its supply of 3nm semiconductors. However, under US sanctions China has no way to secure these products”
“Taiwanese company TSMC is increasing its supply of 3nm semiconductors. However, under US sanctions China has no way to secure these products […] Fortunately we have managed to solve the 7nm problembut the reality is that we cannot access advanced manufacturing equipment due to US sanctions and we need to find a way to effectively use 7nm semiconductors,” Zhang Ping’an noted during the event.
This statement contains two ideas that are worth not overlooking. The first is that this executive emphasizes the need to maximize the use of 7nm chips manufactured by Huawei and SMIC, probably because they are more competitive than their 5nm integrated circuits. And on the other hand he is recognizing the difficulties they face when producing 3nm semiconductors without having access to EUV lithography equipment. In these circumstances, comparable TSMC chips are much more competitive, so SMIC and Huawei are going to have a very difficult time if they aspire to sell their most advanced integrated circuits beyond the borders of China.
Image | TSMC
More information | BusinessKorea
In Xataka | TSMC is China’s great hope to withstand US pressure. As much as SMIC and Huawei
