TeaHere was an era when United States chip giant Intel had the lion’s share of the semiconductor industry. This began to change with innovations by Asian chip companies. Taiwan and South Korea have now overtaken Intel in the US. But China is still the primary target of Washington’s campaign to maintain a competitive edge in chip technology. It is an all-out war involving poaching, espionage and alliances.
as described “Industries of Rice”, semiconductor design and manufacturing are fueling the chip wars as advanced, industrialized countries try to maintain their lead in technology. China’s state-owned Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) is now looking for a way out of the maze of sanctions imposed by the US. SMIC is called supply started According to tech research firm, TechInsight, 7-nanometer (nm) chips—a leap forward for a Chinese semiconductor company.
To counter China’s progress, the US as proposed A ‘Chip 4 Alliance’, which will include South Korea, Japan and Taiwan as a collective strategic alliance of global chip powerhouses. US Senate on Tuesday also voted to advance a bill Which will provide $52 billion in subsidies to domestic semiconductor manufacturers and maintain its competitive edge over China.
South Korea-based Samsung began mass production of 3-nm chips on June 30, a significant chip design advancement. But the meeting between Chinese ambassador Jing Haiming and Samsung executive-turned-legislator Yang Hyang-ja, who has advocated for Seoul to join the chip alliance, suggests China is trying to abstain South Korea joining the coalition. Seoul itself is reluctant because it is concerned about Samsung’s ability to work with China.
“At a time when the global economy is deeply integrated, such a move by the US is against the present. It is unpopular and will fail eventually.” Told China’s deputy director of foreign affairs Zhao Lijian.
Meanwhile, New Delhi is trying Fodder Semiconductor companies will manufacture their major components in India. Even as Indian companies enter chip manufacturing, New Delhi will need to develop institutional mechanisms that thwart industrial espionage and make India a promising destination for chip companies and talent.
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China’s push for self-reliance
TechInsights, an analyst firm tracking tech trends, reported that China’s state-owned SMIC is shipping the 7nm MinerVa bitcoin mining chip. Chip innovation in semiconductor manufacturing has been called a ‘two generation leap’. “It serves Chinese advanced product companies that have been restricted from access to advanced technologies available from TSMC [Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company]Samsung and other cutting-edge foundry service providers force older nodes to be redesigned, making them less competitive.” Told TechInsight reports about SMIC’s innovation.
But the story of China’s efforts to become self-reliant in semiconductor technology goes to the Donald Trump administration.
Trump administration did Restricted Huawei’s access to semiconductors manufactured by US companies. But it was soon realized that the telecom equipment firm could circumvent the approval by purchasing the chips through a Chinese semiconductor company. Later, in December 2020, the U.S. banned Its companies have been barred from providing equipment, software and designs for chips below 14 nanometers (nm) to Chinese companies without approval.
In March 2021, China added semiconductors as an independent category to its Five-Year Plan for Science and Technology, aimed at becoming self-sufficient in chip manufacturing. Because semiconductor supply chains are global and highly integrated, US sanctions initially disrupted the mainland manufacturing base.
In 2019, China had $29 billion worth of semiconductors Fundwhich is likely to increase.
But how did SMIC manage to innovate despite the restrictions? One possible answer can be found in talent hunting and industrial espionage.
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Sino-Taiwan Chip War
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry has been disappoint Mainland Chinese companies are trying to hunt down their engineers and experts in semiconductor manufacturing. Taiwan’s Bureau of Investigation launched a task force in December 2020 and currently investigating 100 Chinese companies for allegedly hunting Taiwan talent. Although it is not illegal for Chinese companies to hire Taiwanese engineers, Taipei does have legal restrictions restricting mainland investment in chip design.
An official of Taiwan’s Bureau of Investigation Told Reuters Regarding a case in which a Taiwanese data analysis company, with alleged ties to a Shanghai chip firm, sent blueprints of the designs to China. The investigation is still on.
TechInsight suggests that SMIC’s 7nm chip is similar to TSMC’s 7nm chip technology, but at least two generations older than the Taiwanese company is now.
Even if SMIC developed 7nm chips on its own, that doesn’t mean China is now on par with Taiwan, South Korea and the US.
bloomberg Notes that while the innovation of SMICs could prove the potential of the Chinese despite restrictions, it does not mean that the chip technology can be deployed at scale. SMIC will be required to display the yield, or percentage of successful production show Market viability of your product.
“One chip is not made for one” [good business] It’s one thing to make a single chip, but it’s another to have the yield and volume.” Told Will Hunt, research analyst, Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
SMIC still lags behind TSMC, Intel and Samsung, as they are at least two nodes ahead. But a Chinese company that has hit the threshold of manufacturing 7nm chips, despite US sanctions and restrictions on access to software and design, tells you that China is ready to catch up anyway.
Tech Race unfolds
According to TechInsight, SMIC’s 7nm innovation, although surprising, has not yet fully demonstrated the underlying process for this level of chip technology. “This chipset probably displays the logic part, but not the bitcell aspect,” the report said.
TSMC and Samsung have moved up the innovation ladder with the latest 5-nanometer chips used in the latest Apple products.
Meanwhile, Chinese semiconductor companies had entered the chip race with innovations such as 64-layer and 128-layer NAND flash memory chips made by Yangtze Memory Technologies Company (YMTC).
The Joe Biden administration is investigating China’s state-owned YMTC for violating US sanctions and providing banned chips to Huawei for its products. Washington has left no stone unturned to reduce China’s access to proprietary chip designs.
Preliminary analysis of SMIC’s 7nm chip shows that the Chinese company copied TSMC’s design, which may have been achieved through the classic industrial espionage that Beijing is known to practice.
China has managed to leapfrog in semiconductor design, but it has some way to go to create an innovative ecosystem in chips and become self-sufficient.
(Edited by Srinjoy Dey)