At the beginning of this year, Huawei and SMIC continuously made breakthroughs in 5nm technology. However, China’s biggest foundry will have yield problems because the wafers with this lithography will be mass-produced on older DUV machinery. This problem unfortunately extends to the 7nm node as well, which TSMC had introduced back in 2018, putting SMIC many generations out of phase with its peers.

SMIC Stuck on 7nm Lithography Until 2026, Hindering Huawei’s Progress Despite Government Funding

A new report suggests that, despite receiving substantial funding from the Chinese government, SMIC is unable to scale the 7nm barrier, meaning Huawei will be reliant on this technology until at least 2026.

Meanwhile, new U.S. trade sanctions have put Huawei three generations behind in its AI chip development. As if things weren’t already challenging enough, TSMC recently notified some Chinese customers that it would cut off shipments of 7nm chips for an array of applications because, apparently, U.S. authorities told TSMC to do so. As its options shrink, China’s ideal scenario is to be able to use domestic suppliers like SMIC in place of TSMC and Samsung. But this route faces enormous obstacles.

The U.S. has effectively banned sales of advanced EUV machinery to SMIC by ASML, the Dutch supplier that’s the sole provider of such equipment to wafer manufacturers like TSMC and Samsung. This means that SMIC has to make do with what it has. While the Chinese government is likely to allocate a large budget to help the foundry develop its own EUV machines, this goal may take several years to achieve. As per Liberty Times, many sources familiar with the situation in SMIC and Huawei told them that both companies will be stuck observing the 7nm process until at least 2026.

These circumstances only compound the problems for SMIC, with 7nm yields already being a struggle and pursuing 5nm wafers altogether impossible if you don’t want to be wasteful in your efforts. Just last month, Huawei revealed a few details about the Kirin 9100 set to feature in the Mate 70 series, which will come off 6nm lines. However, this may merely be an enhanced version of the 7nm technology with a higher transistor count, rather than a true leap forward.

In summary, Huawei’s prospects depend on SMIC overcoming its manufacturing challenges and achieving reliable yields for its advanced processes. With the funding from the Chinese government, this should be possible—unless there are other unseen factors at play.

FAQs

Why is SMIC limited to the 7nm process until 2026?

SMIC is facing challenges with older DUV machinery and cannot scale to more advanced lithography like 5nm due to restrictions on acquiring EUV equipment from ASML.

How does this affect Huawei?

Huawei’s chip advancements are limited, as they rely on SMIC’s 7nm process, delaying their AI chip ambitions and impacting future smartphone technology.