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They’re at 7nm now. Working towards 5nm. Yields leave much to be desired, but in the absence of other options cost doesn’t really matter. They’ll just have to m
by ein0p 3y ago
They’re at 7nm now. Working towards 5nm. Yields leave much to be desired, but in the absence of other options cost doesn’t really matter. They’ll just have to make more wafers.
- mupuff1234 3y agoWhere did you get the 7nm from?
- ein0p 3y agoGoogle “SMIC 7nm”.
- maxglute 3y agoUltimately chokepoint still around creating litho/entire semi supply chain. which TBF is coming along. Big Fund was wasetful but did produce a lot of uncoordinated domestic players, US sanctions now forcing them to coordinate. PRC probably only actor with entire indigenous semi supply chain on the horizon. Fabbing leading edge chips was always the "easy" part, there's a reason TSMC/Samsung were willing to open fabs on mainland before US sanctions/CHIPs act without massive subsidies. Other east asians know Chinese work culture is compatible, they can work how they work and make what they make. Hence SMIC/Huawei can do 7nm and eventually 5nm with some TW/SKR training in years prior. Semi is probably going to be less like oil and more like agriculture in coming years, it's just something strategic many govs have to subsidize.
- throwaway2990 3y agoHuawei apparently is making 7nm chips for their Mate 60 phone, but it’s apparently terrible, overheating issues, slow, high power consumption. I think the power issue is because the camera and mic are on 24/7, they showed QR codes being read while the screen is off.
- cpursley 3y agoGotta start somewhere. Everyone sucks at some process until they don't.
- Dalewyn 3y agoAlso worth pointing out the Overton Window has shifted from "China can't silicon." to "China's doing crappy 7nm." in a span of only a few years. The copium levels in the atmosphere here are reaching critical levels.
- throwaway2990 3y agoI haven’t seen any “China can’t silicon”. They are catching up sure, and they will eventually do 7nm well, but it seems like instead of praising China for progression, the pro-China people are like “see the west sucks China has 7nm!!!” When the reality is that the 7nm is as good as CPUs 15 years ago. Let’s appreciate that China isn’t siting around doing nothing and improving the competition. But not overhype something.
- bee_rider 3y agoSucking at a process is part of learning to do it better. But only if it is on a path of learning; practicing the skills that will be useful later. They’ve stuck with DUV, which everybody else in the world decided was a dead end. Sticking with DUV may cause further progress to be impossible for all we know (maybe somebody should ask Intel). Going to EUV will require a different set of skills. They’ll have to replicate ASML’s machines to do so. Nobody else has figured it out. Their process on figuring out DUV tricks doesn’t tell us anything about their progress making that other type of machine.
- Goodroo 3y agoI'm laughing at your comment because you seem to assume that China is doing nothing in EUV. I have somewhat inside knowledge and I can tell you that they have multiple teams working on multiple approaches.From SSMB to LPP, they are leaving nothing to chance.
- tbe-stream 3y agoThe 7 nm uses (older) ASLM machines.