When Chinese technology, represented by Huawei, is overtaking the West, the United States, as a digital hegemon, has begun to frequently put pressure on my country’s technology giants. After more than a year of “entanglement” with Huawei , but had no choice but to target my country's chip industry.
As we all know, the rapid development of all walks of life in the field of science and technology is inseparable from chips as drivers. In the field of chips, from chip design to chip manufacturing, the West has an absolute advantage, such as the design of chips used Architecture, ARM, X86; EDA software in the chip design field; ASML lithography machines used in chip foundry, all cannot avoid American technology.
According to public data, three American companies, Synopsys, Cadence and Mentor, monopolize about 90% of China’s EDA software market; chip foundry giants TSMC and Samsung, which use American technology, monopolize 70% of the global foundry market. In the field of 7nm and 5nm EUV foundry, TSMC and Samsung, which use ASML lithography machines, have formed an absolute monopoly. The competition between China and the West in science and technology is intensifying, resulting in Huawei being unable to obtain 7nm and 5nm process chips. Among domestic chip foundry giants Core International has also been "cut off" and unable to purchase advanced EUV lithography machines.
Recently, there is news from the US media that US Congressional Representative Michael Mccaul and Senator Tom Cotton have made "recommendations" to the US Department of Commerce, requesting that the previous "chip ban" against Huawei be expanded to below the 14nm process. , and targets all Chinese chip companies. This is undoubtedly "bad news" for our country's chip industry!
You must know that although the 14nm process of domestic foundry giant SMIC has achieved mass production, it still cannot get rid of its dependence on Western technology. For chip design companies like Huawei and Alibaba, It will also be unable to obtain more advanced foundry support; this also means that all domestic chip companies cannot escape, and the US move will undoubtedly lock down domestic chip companies, whether it is SMIC or Huawei, this will undoubtedly affect is very deadly.
For the chip industry at this stage, the ban should not be implemented immediately. Due to the epidemic and the chip ban, the world has fallen into a "chip panic" situation, whether it is mobile phones or automobiles. All other fields are affected by insufficient chip supply, and the United States is no exception. Industry experts analyze that in order to solve the problem of tight chip supply, 10 SMICs are needed. For this reason, the ban will not be implemented for the time being.
In fact, whether it is a technology blockade of 7nm, 5nm or 14nm, Huawei recently publicly stated that it no longer has any illusions about the United States. All current strategies are "how to survive under the entity list for a long time." In the field of chips, Huawei has begun research on optical chips and manufacturing methods and disclosed relevant technology patents, including wafer cutting, etching and other technologies.
TSMC stated that it will achieve mass production of 3nm process chips in 2022, which also means that traditional process chips will reach the ceiling. If you want to overtake traditional chip technology, the answer is already clear. It is precisely because traditional chips have reached their physical limits that the next chip era is coming. Manufacturing technology, materials, and equipment will all undergo great changes.
By launching optical chip research ahead of schedule, Huawei can, on the one hand, get rid of its dependence on traditional Western chip technology and avoid being stuck in the next era; on the other hand, it is very likely to achieve cornering overtaking in the future chip market. , I have to say that Ren Zhengfei is still very far-sighted.
I believe that in the world's largest chip market, as China vigorously incubates the semiconductor industry, domestic chip technology will surely develop healthily and steadily.
At this time, for chip companies and chip researchers, working hard and being down-to-earth may be the best attitude in this "changing era"!
What do you think about this matter?