The US Government is not satisfied with the sanctions it has already approved to make it difficult for China to manufacture cutting-edge integrated circuits. And it is not because Huawei and SMIC, which are the main chip designer and manufacturer respectively, they have found a way to use ASML’s deep ultraviolet (UVP) lithography equipment to produce 5 and 7 nm semiconductors. Perhaps even in the medium term they can manufacture 3nm chips.
Of course, the technique used by these Chinese companies, known as ‘multiple patterning’, seriously penalizes the performance per wafer and the cost of each integrated circuit. Even so, the Administration led by Joe Biden wants to make it even more difficult for the Chinese Government to prevent it from continuing to develop the advanced chips it needs to strengthen and modernize its weapons. And in these circumstances the Netherlands and Japan play a fundamental role.
Negotiations are already underway
Alan Estevez, the head of US export strategy, heads to Japan after meeting with the Netherlands Administration. These two countries are the main manufacturers of lithography equipment on the planet. ASML, the only company currently producing extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment, is Dutch. And Tokyo Electron, Canon and Nikon, which are also very important producers of machines for manufacturing integrated circuits, are Japanese companies.
The US Government wants to further tighten the restrictions applied to the export of this equipment to China
The US Government wants to further tighten the restrictions applied to the export of this equipment to China, and to achieve its goal it has to negotiate with the Administrations of the Netherlands and Japan. This is just what Alan Estevez is doing this week. The asset on which the US relies to put pressure on your allies It consists of the fact that the lithography equipment manufactured by the companies that I mentioned in the previous paragraph use patents of American origin, which gives power to the Joe Biden Administration when deciding which countries have access to that technology.
ASML cannot sell its UVE and UVP lithography equipment to Chinese semiconductor manufacturers. It also cannot offer them some of its maintenance and component replacement services. Tokyo Electron, Canon and Nikon are subject to similar restrictions. Currently, the US Government has a dual purpose.
On the one hand, it wants to increase the list of sanctioned Chinese chip manufacturers, which would go from five to sixteen. And also, aims to further limit the type of equipment they have access to. In all likelihood, Alan Estevez’s visit will not be unsuccessful, so we can assume that China will soon be subject to new semiconductor bans.
More information | Reuters
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