More than ever, Chinese industry seems to be catching up with the semiconductor giants, whether South Korean or Taiwanese.
While trade relations between China and the United States are as it were tense, the Beijing government is seeking to reduce its dependence on all forms of imports.
Rise of Chinese industry…
With this in mind, China is trying to build a robust semiconductor industry, independent of companies as prestigious as Intel, TSMC or Samsung.
According to the analysis firm TechInsights, Beijing has scored a lot of points in recent months and as of July 2021, the Shanghai-based founder SMIC has produced SoC chips engraved in 7 nm to equip Bitcoin miners.
SMIC had revealed its early work in 7nm etching as early as early 2020, and a few months later the company reported that its first chip had entered its final stage before mass production. She was said tapped out.
… who would copy Taiwan’s work?
The firm TechInsight claims to have carried out reverse engineering to study the SoC signed SMIC in more detail. His conclusions are without appeal, everything suggests a close copy of TSMC’s 7nm technology “.
TechInsights points out, however, that the processes developed by Intel, Samsung or TSMC are ” noticeably more sophisticated than that of SMIC, which would have at least two knots behind “. However, there is no denying the recent progress made by the Chinese company.
SMIC would therefore have largely “borrowed” from the Taiwanese giant, which comes as no surprise: in 2002 and 2006, TSMC had already brought disputes with SMIC to court. This case around the 7 nm process could also end up in court.
Still, the Chinese electronics industry is progressing and manages to partly ignore the restrictions imposed by the United States. For example, even without the EUV machines made by ASML, SMIC is proving it can produce 7nm chips, and that’s just the beginning.
Source : Tom’s Hardware
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