After the core of Huawei was cut off, domestic technology companies, universities and research institutions have begun to accelerate the research and development of chip technology, especially high-end chips. However, it is not that easy to produce high-end chips. From the beginning of chip design, foreign chip architecture and chip design software are needed. When it comes to the chip manufacturing stage, EUV lithography machines cannot be avoided. Obviously, it is almost impossible for China Chip to "overtake" in the high-end chip market. EUV lithography machines can block this road.
Faced with this dilemma, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Wu Hanming made a public voice and made suggestions to Chinese chip-related technology companies. "The top priority is that China's chip industry should focus on the mid- and low-end chip market. Laying in the high-end chip market is not a good idea. Only by achieving self-sufficiency in mid- and low-end chips can we be qualified to impact the high-end" .
To be honest, this suggestion is quite pertinent and the direction is correct. The chips imported from China to the United States every year are worth hundreds of billions of dollars, but the proportion of high-end chips is not high. On the contrary, the proportion of mid- and low-end chips is around 70%-80%. Therefore, if the Chinese chip industry wants to get rid of its dependence on US chips, counter the US, and first stand firm in the mid- and low-end chip market, it can give the US a strong fight!
As a leader in domestic chip companies, SMIC once wanted to hit the high-end, and even spent a lot of money to purchase EUV lithography machines from ASML. However, due to the obstruction of the United States, more than three years have passed, and the ASML company still has not delivered the goods. After realizing the reality, SMIC decisively changed the track and focused on the mature process chip market. You should know that mature process chips have a wider range of applications, such as 5G, smart home appliances, automobiles, artificial intelligence and other fields. The market share of mature process chips above 28nm exceeds 70%. It is no exaggeration to say that as long as you win the mid- and low-end chip market, China Chips can regain "freedom".
Under the guidance of Liang Mengsong, SMIC completed the update from 90nm to 14nm in just 5 years, and its development speed is faster than TSMC and Samsung . Just recently, SMIC spent $7.5 billion to gamble once. Fortunately, SMIC had the right bet. SMIC invested US$7.5 billion in Tianjin to build a new 28nm wafer factory, with a monthly production capacity of 100,000 pieces. The reason why
is said to be a "big deal" is because SMIC's total revenue in the first half of this year was only 24.592 billion yuan, while US$7.5 billion is equivalent to 52.379 billion yuan, which is almost the annual revenue of SMIC. In the past year, SMIC has expanded its mature process chip wafer factory four times in a row, with a cumulative investment of more than 170 billion yuan. And the tough attitude also cut off TSMC's back-end!
After the new chip bill in the United States was implemented, TSMC was forced to choose one of two. It originally planned to deploy the domestic mature process chip market, but it is obvious that SMIC did not leave any opportunity for TSMC. Even foreign media lamented that TSMC's expectations may become empty. TSMC's current situation is also quite embarrassing. On the one hand, TSMC is under pressure to prepare for building a factory in the United States. On the other hand, TSMC was affected by the decline in global chip demand and was cut by customers, not only postponed the release of 3nm process chips, but even planned to shut down some EUV lithography machines in order to save energy and money.
without comparison, there is no harm. SMIC successfully switched the track, while TSMC is still being pushed by the United States. Facts have proved that the core technology must be in its own hands so that it does not have to look at people's faces. "De-beautification" cannot be stopped. What do you think about this? Welcome to comment and leave a message!
