Report SMIC Testing Domestically Made DUV Lithography Machine
According to the Financial Times, a new step in the development of China's semiconductors might be at hand, with indications that the country's semiconductor production company, SMIC, is testing its first internally manufactured DUV (deep ultraviolet) lithography machine. The step is said to result from heightened demand for AI chips in the country and its push for a self-sufficient supply chain.
Reduce Dependence on Foreign Technology
The equipment is said to have been produced by the Shanghai startup Yuliangsheng and, if successful, will lay very important ground for Chinese capability growth in building out its own advanced equipment. Currently, SMIC is heavily reliant for lithography on a Dutch supplier, ASML.
Under current US export regulations, SMIC's access is limited to the less advanced DUV tools, which the company used to reach 7nm production. These restrictions, however, prevent SMIC from scale-up further by Western technology; it thus forces the company to look domestically.
Technical Capabilities and Production Challenges
SMIC is said to be testing equipment developed by the new Yuliangsheng for 7nm production. Besides the report also said that the domestic machine had the capability of scaling down to 5nm production, but that would entail severe challenges.
Achieving a 5nm node using DUV technology has to follow through a complex technique called "multiple patterning". This is often heaped with alignment errors, and hence, phenomenally low yield rates.
A Potential Compromise for Higher Output
Even though the yield will be quite low, SMIC may go ahead. Chinese chip companies are currently busy scaling up their production volume to meet the ever-increasing demand of the domestic AI industry. SMIC has a history of foregoing yield rates in exchanges for enhancing its overall chip output.
