It was a Huawei patent application made public by China’s national intellectual property regulator in March, but filed in September 2021, that initially sparked debate about how far Huawei and SMIC could go into advanced chip-making below the 14-nm threshold set by US export controls. 02:38 Apple supplier Foxconn to build ‘AI factories’ using US … Read more
Leading European research labs will receive 2.5 billion euros (US$2.72 billion) in funding under the European Chips Act to set up a pilot line that will develop and test future generations of advanced semiconductors, Belgium’s imec said on Wednesday. The 43-billion-euro Chips Act was announced in 2022 and established last year by the European Union … Read more
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), mainland China’s biggest contract chip maker, has become the world’s third-largest integrated circuit (IC) foundry by sales for the first time on the back of strong domestic demand, despite rigid sanctions imposed by the United States government. SMIC’s sales are expected to record double-digit growth in the current quarter amid … Read more
Spokespeople for ASML, TSMC and the Dutch trade ministry declined to comment. Spokespeople for the White House National Security Council, US Department of Defense and US Department of Commerce didn’t respond to emailed requests for comment. Visitors watch a wafer shown on screens at the TSMC Renovation Museum in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on July 5, 2023. … Read more
Intel on Tuesday disclosed deepening operating losses for its foundry business, a blow to the chip maker as it tries to regain a technology lead it lost in recent years to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). Intel said the manufacturing unit had US$7 billion in operating losses for 2023, a steeper loss than the US$5.2 … Read more
Beijing-based Naura Technology Group started research on lithography systems last month, according to people familiar with the matter, as China’s home-grown semiconductor tool makers try workarounds to produce advanced chips without the latest equipment from Dutch giant ASML, a breakthrough that could potentially thwart US attempts to contain China’s chip-making capabilities. The efforts, which involve … Read more
Under US pressure, ASML already restricts Chinese clients from buying its more advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, which are used to produce the world’s most cutting-edge chips. ASML has a near monopoly on the machines. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, gestures during a press conference in Beijing on January 2, 2024, … Read more
China’s imports of critical chip-making lithography systems from the Netherlands surged 1,050 per cent by value in November, in a sign that domestic semiconductor firms are not yet cut off from receiving orders on certain advanced equipment in the wake of tightened US export rules. China imported 16 of the Dutch projection systems valued at … Read more
