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Opinionated - China Chipping Away to Semiconductor Dominance

Process node is still the primary determinant of performance because it determines transistor size. More transistors means more performance. The smaller the transistor, the less power is required. You want transistor density to be as high as possible for a given die size. It's very simple.

But we haven’t seen a transistor shrink from Intel since 2014.

So how does Intel increase performance at the moment?

Intel does it by producing a power-guzzling giant piece of crap like this.
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While real companies produce chips with smaller die sizes and higher transistor counts.
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Equalize the die size, power consumption, and cooling requirement and see if Intel is still as good as you think it is.

Also you are dead wrong regarding AMD's ability to compete.

One of the big questions will be if Intel can compete with 28 cores on 14nm when AMD is ready to roll out 64 cores on 7nm, and how the performance will differ. One of the clever things Intel has done in this contest is to draw the talk away from just quoting core counts:lol:, and help build a platform around its product.
https://www.anandtech.com/show/14146/intel-xeon-scalable-cascade-lake-deep-dive-now-with-optane


I disagree but lets assume what you say is right. Then the US has a kill switch over any company because it can simply stop fab access to the company.

No fab can work without access to American semiconductor equipment from firms like Applied Materials and KLA Tencor.
 
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One of the big questions will be if Intel can compete with 28 cores on 14nm when AMD is ready to roll out 64 cores on 7nm, and how the performance will differ. One of the clever things Intel has done in this contest is to draw the talk away from just quoting core counts:lol:, and help build a platform around its product.
https://www.anandtech.com/show/14146/intel-xeon-scalable-cascade-lake-deep-dive-now-with-optane

Btw, just in case you haven't noticed. Huawei has already rolled out 64 core on 7nm. Why do you think the US government is so terrified? :rofl:
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Yeah but without fabs where will they fabricate it?

It seems America is looking to ban even foreign companies from dealing with Huawei.
You are so sure we can't do it? A year ago YMTC was being laughed by you too, now they aren't laughing anymore right? I told you hoping your rival to fail is not a strategy. Improving and competing is the right, India is not even in the game.

Oh no! SMIC has announced multiple times many things that they will do, which ended up being left undone. You can go back in this very thread to find them..
So copy the link when they first announced it. You need to define announcement, are they announcing they started work? Or they announced they completed their work and yet it's not ready? Left undone? Hell these people are not your dodo types, they work hard and the process is already completed and now under verification stage 95% yield had been reached.

Neither Taiwan nor South Korea are vying for superpower status, are they? They are allies with US and other Western Countries and as such don't face threat from being cut off from western supply chains.
Supapowa again? Why are you Indians so obsssed with this? Since when we were vying to be a superpower, we are a poor humble country trying to catch up, unlike India who is the real supapowa since 2012. Allies or poodles? So trying to be sovereign and independent is now regarded as vying for supapowadom aka poppadom.


Also, being among the best is actually really required. Look at Chinese smartphone companies. They have major shares in the international market. However today even the medium end phone has a chip made on a 10 nm or 14 nm process. I have multiple mobile including $150 mobiles from Xiaomi that have qualcomm chipsets fabricated on 14 nm. If these chinese companies are denied access to chips from these advanced nodes, then chinese companies will pretty much lose ALL of their market share abroad.
Huawei requires Qualcomm? Xiaomi doesn't have a processor company? There are multiple Chinese startups designing based on arm cores, yes the very Qualcomm chips are designed around arm cores. But you as a consumer will only look at the word mediatek or Qualcomm, that's brand recognition. What if I tell you tmr US is banning those chips, you think Chinese companies won't feel up that vacuum?

Also, 14 nm in China hasn't matured yet. The mass production hasn't even begun yet. Maturation comes after mass production has begun and the yields and cost has been optimized.
Matured means the process is ready meaning reaching a certain yield criteria to begin mass production. Don't argue with me, argue with the articles, write to those editors

Umm... it's not only the patents. If it were only the patents companies like Zhaoxin who have access to x86 patents would sell as much as intel. But they don't. x86 is just one thing. Intel spends a LOT of money hiring the best engineers to design literally the best performing chips on the market. This is even clear in the server and supercomputer space where Intel doesn't even have competitors like AMD in that space.
Try selling your chip if you need to pay 5-10% royalty and to add some salt to it name your company Gupta and see if they will sell. No matter how good your chip is, you are strangled by this patent regime, they can sue you if you don't pay and they can sue you if you tweak it. Even access to the world market is restricted by this patent regime. Hence, even if isolated and embargoed, we still can produce this chips which are better/comparable to Intel for domestic consumption. The issue for globalizating this chips is not about performance, it's about patents and brand recognition.

Btw, just in case you haven't noticed. Huawei has already rolled out 64 core on 7nm. Why do you think the US government is so terrified? :rofl:
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Damn the last link is starting up our 7nm process. I read in Chinese news SMIC started work on this years ago. The Taiwan guy who helped Samsung achieve this is now in SMIC. Let's see how it goes.

A moment ago boy genius bussard said we have no alternative. Lol. He is trying so desperate to put down anything coming out of China. I was wondering why isn't india doing anything, I guess their strategy is to stay idle and wait for China to implode. Almost nothing cutting edge comes out of India despite the claim the gazillion Indians in NASA.
 
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You are so sure we can't do it? A year ago YMTC was being laughed by you too, now they aren't laughing anymore right? I told you hoping your rival to fail is not a strategy. Improving and competing is the right, India is not even in the game.

When did I laugh at YMTC? Please provide links. My attitude is usually to wait and watch. Also, chinese semiconductor equipment companies are quite far behind American companies.

So copy the link when they first announced it. You need to define announcement, are they announcing they started work? Or they announced they completed their work and yet it's not ready? Left undone? Hell these people are not your dodo types, they work hard and the process is already completed and now under verification stage 95% yield had been reached.

Just wait a minute. I will provide you with past claims.

Supapowa again? Why are you Indians so obsssed with this? Since when we were vying to be a superpower, we are a poor humble country trying to catch up, unlike India who is the real supapowa since 2012. Allies or poodles? So trying to be sovereign and independent is now regarded as vying for supapowadom aka poppadom.

Really? You really don't want to be a super power and overtake US. Like there can perhaps a thousand comments on this forum alone that will indicate otherwise. In fact the title of this thread itself claims that CHina is moving towards semiconductor DOMINANCE.

Huawei requires Qualcomm? Xiaomi doesn't have a processor company? There are multiple Chinese startups designing based on arm cores, yes the very Qualcomm chips are designed around arm cores. But you as a consumer will only look at the word mediatek or Qualcomm, that's brand recognition. What if I tell you tmr US is banning those chips, you think Chinese companies won't feel up that vacuum?

Only hisilicon is comparable to Qualcomm. Other companies and startups don't come anywhere close.

Matured means the process is ready meaning reaching a certain yield criteria to begin mass production. Don't argue with me, argue with the articles, write to those editors

Agree to disagree then.

Try selling your chip if you need to pay 5-10% royalty and to add some salt to it name your company Gupta and see if they will sell. No matter how good your chip is, you are strangled by this patent regime, they can sue you if you don't pay and they can sue you if you tweak it. Even access to the world market is restricted by this patent regime. Hence, even if isolated and embargoed, we still can produce this chips which are better/comparable to Intel for domestic consumption. The issue for globalizating this chips is not about performance, it's about patents and brand recognition.

It's not only patents.

SMIC's 2013 Technology Symposiums Kicks Off in Shanghai

First of Two China Symposiums Highlights SMIC's Quality, Innovation & Value-added Service

SHANGHAI, Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation ("SMIC"; NYSE: SMI; SEHK: 981), mainland China's largest and most advanced semiconductor foundry, kicked off its 13th technology symposium series in Shanghai today. The theme of this year's series is "Advanced and Value-added Technology Platforms for Your Vision."

Dr. Tzu-Yin Chiu, Chief Executive Officer of SMIC, gave the opening address. He showcased SMIC's achievements in the past two years and outlined its commitment to aggressively close its technology gap with other top foundries while continuing to offer comprehensive, value-added IC solutions in line with market trends to meet customer demand.

Dr. Haijun Zhao, Chief Operating Officer of SMIC, shared success stories from SMIC's initiatives to enhance yields, optimize product mix, shorten cycle times, and ensure product quality. He said quality and reliability are built into all SMIC's processes, from technology development to production, to ensure high performance. He referenced SMIC's receipt of international certificates and other recognition as evidence of its continuous pursuit of quality.

Dr. Shiuh-Wuu Lee, SMIC's Executive Vice President of Technology Development, explained SMIC's development goals and innovative use of differentiated technology. After highlighting SMIC's 40nm production ramp up since 4Q2012, Dr. Lee said that SMIC's 28nm process will be ready by the end of this year and that its 20nm HKMG development will help deliver 14nm FinFET technology by the end of 2Q2016. Dr. Lee also expressed strong confidence in China's IC market and emphasized SMIC's specialty technologies that target the China market. He said SMIC will continue to support domestic equipment and material vendors and collaborate with university and research institutes.

The Shanghai symposium featured SMIC's latest manufacturing offerings and technology developments on SMIC Design Support Solutions, analog/RF PDK, IP platforms for high speed application processors, eNVM platforms targeting China Market, and more. The symposium also featured an exhibition with more than 50 SMIC partners displaying their products and services, including libraries and IP, EDA tools, packaging, testing, design service, and others. More than 500 IC design engineers, customers, design service providers, and SMIC technology partners from around the world were in attendance.

John Peng, Senior Vice President and General Manager of SMIC's China Business Unit, delivered closing remarks thanking the attendees for their long-term support and partnership. He expressed SMIC's unwavering commitment to accelerate technology development, optimize product-mix, ensure on time delivery, and improve product quality and operational efficiency. He said SMIC will forge long term partnerships and strive to earn customer trust by providing quality service.

SMIC's next technology symposium is scheduled for September 14th in Beijing. For more information about the 2013 SMIC Technology Symposiums, please email your inquiry to symposium@smics.com or contact your SMIC account manager.

CONTACT:

Angela Miao
Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Shanghai) Corp.
021-38610000 ext.10088

SMIC's 2013 Technology Symposiums Kicks Off in Shanghai
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We are still trailing behind if Intel continues to shrink its chip size in 2016.

SMIC claims that 14 nm will be available by 2016.

Hey thanks for your answer. But there is small issue I wanna remind. Actually 32 nm was that generation's standard node size and 28 nm was the stop gap.

SPIE | Proceeding | Challenges for the 28nm half node: Is the optical shrink dead?

GlobalFoundries: 32nm and 28nm under way, moving away from strict SOI | Chips | Geek.com

IBM, GlobalFoundries move to 28nm process tech- The Inquirer

And this second issue is that of course the smaller the node is it's much more energy efficient and better. But there are a lot of companies out there which made their designs for 32 nm and most of them won't be able to easily adapt 28 nm technology. Of course 28 nm is more advanced, but as you've mentioned there are a lot of IC designers that doesn't work cutting edge. Actually SMIC owes a lot to it's robust 40 nm and 65 nm technology for it's current surge in revenues and profit.

MOQ is another issue for many small companies out there as well. They sometimes work with bigger nodes to have lower MOQ's. Most of the time small companies can't afford large MOQ's for cutting edge nodes.

Here's an interview with SMIC's CEO Tzu-Yin Chiu,

In the midst of SMIC's financial achievements, Chiu last week received the coveted Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) leadership award from SEMI, the global semiconductor industry association.

With breathing room at last, SMIC now talks about the company's various milestones in its environmental, safety, and philanthropy activities. Chiu touched upon a "SMIC Liver Transplant Program for Children," an initiative launched last year to contribute 2 million RMB to fund liver transplants for impoverished children in China.

During a one-on-one interview with EE Times last week, Chiu didn't hesitate to express SMIC's interest in expansion -- beyond China.

Asked about IBM fabs that may be up for sale, as Big Blue executes its plan to withdraw from the semiconductor business, Chiu said he's interested. "Never rule out the possibility," he said. However, he quickly added, "Of course, we are aware of some of the issues... IBM is, after all, the jewel of the United States."

SMIC is rehabilitated. China's leading foundry's operation is much more stable. The company is building its revenue and profit growth based on, not a wild, but a modest, capacity buildup of 6.7% per year.

But is this all we can expect? Is this as high as SMIC gets?

SMIC's critics worry that SMIC, under Chiu's leadership, might have already given up the dream of directly competing with the world's Tier 1 foundries such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), Samsung, and Intel.

One long-time semiconductor industry observer based in Shanghai, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told EE Times, "The gap between SMIC and TSMC is not narrowing, but rather, widening larger in the last few years."

Indeed, while leading fab owners are busy talking about a 14 nm process node, SMIC says its 28 nm process node is "now frozen," allowing potential customers to test and verify SMIC's newest node.

If this is not a concern for SMIC, what other priorities does the company have in mind? How will SMIC compete in the long run?

EE Times recently sat down with SMIC's CEO in its Shanghai headquarters. Here's an edited version of that Q&A.

EE Times: Some in the industry are worried that the technology gap between SMIC and other leading foundries is widening. What's your view?

Tzu-Yin Chiu: Probably not with TSMC... but I think we are narrowing our technology gap with other foundries. We are keeping pace with the industry, and we are quite confident of the progress we're making.

EE Times: What other foundries are you referring to?

Chiu: I'd rather not name names.

EE Times: Help me understand with which specific technologies you think you are narrowing the gap with your competitors.

Chiu: For one, we're very happy with our 40nm/45nm ramp. In 2013, 40nm/45nm revenue contribution was more than $200 million. [SMIC's 45/40 nanometer revenue increased significantly, to account for 16% of the revenue in the second half of 2013.]

Second, our 28nm node technology for both high-k metal gate (HKMG) and POLY/SiON processes were frozen by the end of 2013. Through our Multi-Project Wafer offering, we're entertaining commercial ICs and customer product verification. We are getting very good feedback.


SMIC's technology nodes by percentage

(Source: SMIC)


EE Times: How big is your 28 nm capacity?

Chiu: Beijing will be our main 28 nm fab, where we will have a capacity of 6,000 wafers per month by the end of the third quarter this year. We're moving our equipment to Beijing as we speak. But we also have a capacity in Shanghai, capable of addressing the 28 nm technology.

With Beijing and Shanghai combined, our 28 nm capacity is 15,000 wafers per month.

EE Times: Is that enough?

Chiu: It all depends on the needs of our customers. As you know, our 28 nm process technology is fungible. In other words, those new 28 nm process lines are also capable of 40 nm products. Our plan is that over the next three years, we will build our Beijing facility to have a capacity of 35,000 wafers per month.

EE Times: What do you have to do in order to make that happen?

Chiu: We need to bring in customers and ramp up our technology. [SMIC already did the first Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) late last year. The company is planning on four more MPW shuttles in 2014.]

We also need to make sure that there is enough capital for full ramp-up to 35,000 wafers per month.


SMIC's 28 nm technology milestones

(Source: SMIC)

EE Times: I understand that your Beijing project is 55 percent funded by SMIC and 45 percent by other JV shareholders. You previously said that you're spending about $570 million for your new Beijing project. Is your Beijing fab sufficiently funded?

Chiu: Yes, we're getting what we need, and we're confident of it. This is well within our means.

EE Times: I've been hearing about the Chinese government's strong interest in investing really big money into the domestic semiconductor industry -- over the next five to 10 years -- as part of the nation's initiative to encourage innovation and advance its economy. I'd imagine SMIC could be a big beneficiary of that.

Chiu: We'd welcome the policy to encourage investment in semiconductors. But we are not aware of any details.

EE Times: We all agree about the stability and focus you've brought to SMIC. What were three major factors that you think contributed to the company's steady growth last year?

Chiu: This has been a result of the efforts by the whole team.

But first, I should point out that the successful ramp-up of new technology -- namely, 40nm/45nm processes -- contributed to our revenue in the past year.

Second, our differentiated technology in such areas as CMOS image sensors, power management ICs, and embedded non-volatile memory. All three differentiated technologies combined, we achieved an average of more than 40 percent growth in revenue.

Third, robust growth in China contributed to our success. Forty percent of our revenue comes from Chinese customers.

EE Times: Now that we have begun to hear about the pending merger among Chinese fabless companies, such as the one between Spreadtrum and RDA, are we going to see the number of your Chinese customers decline?

Chiu: We see some Chinese companies are breaking off the pack. We're engaged with all the winners.

EE Times: What about customers outside China?

Chiu: We are going global. We have new engagements all over the world. We have top US fabless companies as our long-term customers over the last 10 years. They're silent, but they're very persistent customers. Among those moving from 40 nm to 28 nm, some are top 10 global fabless companies.

EE Times: How's your CMOS image sensor business going?

Chiu: You know that we have a backside illumination platform for our CMOS image sensors. [BSI is a special way of arranging the imaging elements to increase the amount of light captured, thus improving low-light performance. In essence, it removes the readout circuitry and interconnects from the light path, and illuminates the sensor from the backside.]

With the rise of "selfies," 2 megapixel sensors are in big demand for the front camera of a cellphone. They're in high-volume production now. Our customers' demand for 5 megapixel and 8 megapixel image sensors has grown rapidly.

EE Times: Previously, you talked about the Chinese government's mandate, under which magnetic cards will change to IC cards in 2015. Our understanding is that SMIC developed an embedded EEPROM platform, which had been adopted by a majority of China's bankcard IC design houses. What's the latest?

Chiu: Four out of six UnionPay-qualified bank cards use our platform. Most of our customers are verifying their products, and small-volume production will begin in the second half of this year. A more significant ramp-up and revenue contribution are expected in 2015.

EE Times: How's SMIC's plan for MEMS?

Chiu: SMIC has a very successful program with Silicon Labs on CMEMS [designed to allow direct post-processing of high-quality MEMS layers on top of Silicon Labs' RF/mixed-signal CMOS technology.]

EE Times: But that's mainly for manufacturing CMEMS-based MEMS oscillators. What about other MEMS?

Chiu: Our plan is to closely work with our customers to develop proprietary MEMS process technology. We also have our own capable MEMS teams and a set of MEMS capabilities on our own.

EE Times: What are those?

Chiu: We're not ready to reveal specifics. But our plan is to use our new fab where both CMOS image sensors and MEMS can be manufactured. Our goal is to leverage a part of the special tools required for CMOS image sensor production for MEMS.

EE Times: What new fab?

Chiu: We're actually building a new CMOS Image Sensor [CIS] ecosystem. Our plan is to use this ecosystem for both CIS and MEMS.

First, we already have the 28nm/40nm front-end facility in Shanghai.

Second, we established a joint venture with Toppan. With Toppan, we manufacture on-chip color filters and micro lenses for CMOS image sensors.

Last October, SMIC formed an R&D and manufacturing center dedicated to vision, sensors, and 3D IC, with a mission to consolidate manufacturing capabilities for silicon-based sensors, thru-silicon-via [TSV] technology and other middle-end wafer process [MEWP] technologies.

Then, just last month, we announced a new JV with Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology Co. Ltd., China's largest backend house. The new JV will be responsible for 12-inch bumping and related testing. JCET will also build advanced back-end package production lines nearby.

So, all told, we will be leveraging the network of CIS ecosystem for MEMS as well.

* * *
The SMIC CEO said that SMIC must make sure it meets the needs of the Chinese market and Chinese products. For that matter, in responding to Chinese customers' strong demand for 8-inch displays, SMIC is now bringing up an 8-inch fab in Shenzhen. "We have procured the second-hand equipment, and we're installing them right now," Chiu said. The plan is to build a capacity of 50,000 wafers per month. "Our specialty technology products will be made at the 8-inch fab. They include PMIC and image sensors."

Clearly, SMIC;s focus today is what China needs right now. But what about high-end advanced technology? Should I even ask about SMIC's plan for 14 nm process?

Chiu said, "We will be ready with FinFET at 14 nm process by the end of 2016." He said it as a matter of fact. Somehow, he never made it sound like a big deal.


Will SMIC Narrow Tech Gap? | EE Times

He downplayed the 14 nm node in 2016 which actually marks the drop of technological gap between SMIC and tier 1 fabs to 2 years. However he braggs a lot about 40 nm and 65 nm. If this was my company I'd be popping champaigns celebrating 14 nm technology in 2016. However he is so calm about this.

Here the CEO of SMIC again claims that 14 nm will be available by 2016.

China 12-inch fab capacity set to boom

Claire Sung, Taipei; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES

[Tuesday 14 March 2017]

With major China-based chipmakers set to build new 12-inch fabs, the overall 12-inch fab capacity in China is expected to peak over the next two to three years.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) has disclosed plans to open new 12-inch fabs - one in Shanghai and the other in Shenzhen. The new 12-inch fab in Shanghai is scheduled to go into volume production for 14nm chips in 2018, while the 12-inch line in Shenzhen will be engaged in the manufacture of chips made using mature process technologies with early production expected to begin by the end of 2017. The new facilities will bring in an additional 110,000 12-inch wafers monthly.

Shanghai Huali Microelectronics (HLMC) recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for its second 12-inch fab in Shanghai, with volume production scheduled for the second half of 2018. The new fab will directly enter 28nm production with monthly capacity set at 40,000 units.

Startup Huaian Imaging Device Manufacturer (HIDM) plans to build a 12-inch fab in Huaian, Jiangsu province, with production capacity set at 20,000 wafers monthly. Founded in 2016, HIDM specializes in the design and manufacture of CMOS image sensor devices.

China's state-backed Tsinghua Unigroup is looking to establish a 12-inch fab in Chengdu, Sichuan province, which will be designed for the fabrication of logic chips, but has not disclosed further details about the facility.

In addition, Tsinghua Unigroup recently broke ground for a memory fab in Nanjing (Jiangsu province) designed for monthly capacity of 100,000 units, while its subsidiary Yangtze River Storage Technology is constructing a new memory plant in Wuhan (Hebei province), which will be dedicated to producing 3D NAND flash memory with volume production slated for 2018.

Fujian Jin Hua Integrated Circuit, which will production technologies developed by Taiwan's United Microelectronics (UMC), is constructing a 12-inch wafer fab for the manufacture of DRAM products with a goal of outputting 120,000 wafers monthly. UMC, with funding from Jin Hua, has assigned a group of engineers to develop 25/30nm process technologies that will be used for making chips at Jin Hua's 12-inch fab in Quanzhou, Fujian.

Hefei Chang Xin, a joint venture between GigaDevice Semiconductor and the Hefei city government of China's Anhui province, has plans to establish a 12-inch wafer fab capable of producing 125,000 units monthly. Hefei Chang Xin is expected to emerge and compete with Yangtze River Storage and Jin Hua for the title of China's largest memory chipmaker starting in 2018.

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20170311PD200.html

@Bussard Ramjet India?:D

Claims of 14 nm mass production in 2018.

SMIC to enter 7nm R&D, says CEO

Josephine Lien, Shanghai; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES
[Tuesday 14 March 2017]

China-based pure-play foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) is looking to start R&D for 7nm process technology later in 2017, according to company CEO and executive director Tzu-Yin Chiu.

SMIC will join the world's major chipmakers including Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Samsung Electronics and Globalfoundries capable of making 7nm chips, said Chiu, adding that the China-based foundry has in recent years put increased focus on advance-node technologies with annual R&D expenses accounting for as high as 12-13% of revenues.

SMIC spent nearly US$2.7 billion in 2016 capex which was relatively high compared to previous years levels, Chiu indicated. During the year, the company had record revenues of US$2.9 billion with 30.3% on-year growth.

SMIC is developing advanced-node technologies with Huawei and nano-electronics research institute Imec, Chiu noted. The foundry is also working with many IC design service providers including Brite Semiconductor, Cadence Design Systems, Synopsys, ARM and Mentor Graphics, and is partnering with equipment and materials suppliers such as Applied Materials, Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment (AMEC), ASML, Shin-Etsu Handotai and Sumco.

As for the backend, SMIC is teaming up with Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology (JCET), and the pair has set up a joint venture to provide a more complete supply chain for advanced-node manufacturing, Chiu said. Besides, SMIC is looking to further expand its 12-inch lines, Chiu added.

In addition, Chiu expressed optimism about chip demand for emerging IoT applications in China. SMIC plans to roll out 40ULP process technology later in 2017 for higher-end products to further expand its offerings for the segment, according to Chiu.

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20170314PD200.html?mod=0

I think you should get the point by now.

Claims or announcements don't mean anything until they actually come to fruit.
 
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Yeah but without fabs where will they fabricate it?

It seems America is looking to ban even foreign companies from dealing with Huawei.
The US must be SO DESPERATE.
They need their INDIAN LACKEY Cheerleader for advise.
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Chinese local govt incentives aim to end nation’s Achilles’ heel in semiconductor sector
Source:Global Times Published: 2019/5/16 21:33:40

Local govt incentives aim to end nation’s IC Achilles’ heel

ac11b5a6-3e66-491f-b71a-e7d10c1e8d30.jpeg
William Xu, board director and chief marketing officer of Huawei, shows the new CPU chipset to the audience. Photo: Chen Qingqing/GT

Local governments in China are offering incentives to support the development of the domestic integrated circuit (IC) sector, an industry that the nation is promoting to reduce reliance on imports amid a year-long trade war with the US and an intensifying technology race.

One example is Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province. For Shenzhen IC companies whose annual revenues have exceed 100 million yuan, the Shenzhen government will give a one-time reward to the enterprises' core team with 1 million yuan, according to an action plan issued by the Shenzhen government in recent days which aims at accelerating the development of IC industry.

For revenues that are above 300 million yuan, the rewards are 2 million yuan. For revenues that surpassed 500 million yuan and 1 billion yuan, the rewards are 3 million yuan and 4 million yuan. Companies with revenues exceed 2 billion yuan will receive 5 million yuan in rewards.

To support key core technological breakthroughs, the action plan proposes that each year, the Shenzhen government should survey demand for products and call for bids from around the world. The city will sponsor up to 50 percent of the research and development (R&D) costs for a project team that achieves a major technological breakthrough.

The action plan also encourages universities and research institutions to carry out R&D into cutting-edge IC technologies. A one-time award of up to 3 million yuan will be given to those who have won the National Natural Science Award, National Technology Invention Award, and National S&T Progress Award.

"Most of Chinese chips are used in storage, multipoint control units, semiconductor devices and other low-end products," Wang Yanbo, an expert at the Open Handset Alliance, told Global Times on Thursday. The move signals that China is encouraging IC makers, institutes and investors to break monopolies and blockades of advanced chips from developed economies, especially the US.

China is also increasing efforts involving domestic chips to support its industries in the global high-technology race.

Shenzhen, which previously relied on imported material and domestic assembling and manufacturing, is now keen on R&D into basic IC technology, Fu Liang, a veteran telecom industry observer in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"It is a natural step in industry upgrading as ICs play a core role in the nation's move toward intelligence, and the process has been accelerated amid the China-US trade war," said Fu.The chip industry came into the media spotlight last year after the US banned ZTE from purchasing US chips and components, which pushed the Chinese technology company to the verge of collapse.

China has been the world's largest market for chips for many years. But China-based IC production was worth only $23.8 billion in 2018, while imports totaled $312 billion.
 
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When did I laugh at YMTC? Please provide links. My attitude is usually to wait and watch. Also, chinese semiconductor equipment companies are quite far behind American companies.
Sure, the first person to pounce at any news is you. Previously you were saying YMTC does not have technology, this will not work, that will not work, hey unlike you, we are at least working hard to achieve something. How do you know we are far behind? Which specific technology or equipment are we far behind? Can you list it out, show me where we are compared to the leaders?


Really? You really don't want to be a super power and overtake US. Like there can perhaps a thousand comments on this forum alone that will indicate otherwise. In fact the title of this thread itself claims that CHina is moving towards semiconductor DOMINANCE.
Did we announced to you we want to be a supopowa poppadom?:rofl:. Most of the comments I see are from Indians shouting India Shinning, SUPAPOWA. We are not delusional like Indians ok. Aiming for semiconductor dominance now means we want to be SUPAPOWA like India? Gosh. We are poor humble backward country only. Just leave us alone and let us work hard to earn a small living to feed our poor people. We are not as developed as India. :lol:

Only hisilicon is comparable to Qualcomm. Other companies and startups don't come anywhere close.
Are you sure? In what way are we comparable? How many other companies are there? How do they compare? How far behind are they? Please enlighten me with your googling... I mean industry insider news.:china:




SMIC claims that 14 nm will be available by 2016.
Did he say we had completed something and then in the end nothing came out? This is a typical company goal, roadmap, else how does the company advance? He even humbly said they needed to develop certain technologies first which will help reach that goal. Does it sound like they are claiming something or boasting? Sound Indian?
 
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Unisoc 5G modem chip validated, to be made on TSMC 7nm node | DIGITimes
Cage Chao, Taipei; Willis Ke, DIGITIMES
Friday 17 May 2019

Unisoc's Ivy 510 5G modem chip has been validated for 5G NR sub-6 GHz signaling, and will be fabricated by TSMC on the 7nm node for official application in the starting year of 5G commercialization in 2019, according to Steve Chu, CEO of China-based fabless chipmaker under the Tsinghua Unigroup.

Chu said that as a chipmaker with a 20% share of the global market for handset chips, Unisoc has been well prepared to tap immense business opportunities for 5G chip solutions and pursue an even higher market share.

Though the last among major China chipmakers to release 5G chip solutions, Unisoc is sure that it will not lag behind in cashing in on the coming replacement demand for 5G smartphones as long as its first 5G modem chip supporting NR sub-6 GHz can hit the market in 2019, according Chu.

Industry sources said that following the same strategy as adopted by HiSilicon and MediaTek, Unisoc has its first 5G modem chip support only sub-6 GHz, apparently aiming to initially zero in on China's domestic market for 5G smartphones.
 
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He Tingbo, president of Huawei chip division Hi-Silicon, called the American decision to put it on the Entity List “insane” in a letter to employees translated by CNBC. She said the company has been preparing for it for several years, and that Huawei has been creating “spare tires” — apparently referring to extra components that would allow the company to survive if the U.S. cut off the fresh supply.

“All the ‘spare tires’ we’ve created are no longer spare,” He said in the letter.


https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/17/hua...ide-but-it-says-it-can-survive-blacklist.html

In an internal memo seen by CNN Business, HiSilicon chief He Tingbo said the company had assumed that "one day, all advanced chips and technologies in the US will not be available."

To ensure Huawei could continue to serve customers, HiSilicon created "spare tires" so the company would survive, she said.

The United States has "made the most insane decision and put Huawei into the [controlled export list]," she wrote. "Today, as history has made the choice, the spare tires we built have turned in to 'Plan A' overnight."


https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/17/tech/huawei-us-ban-suppliers/index.html

 
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China unveils Brain-Computer Interface chip
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 20:56:37|Editor: Liangyu

TIANJIN, May 18 (Xinhua) -- China has achieved a breakthrough in Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) chip research, with its first BCI chip "Brain Talker" making its debut on Friday at the ongoing World Intelligence Congress held in northern China's Tianjin Municipality.

BCI is a system allowing a person to control a computer or other electronic device using his or her brainwaves, without requiring any movement or verbal instruction.

Brain Talker, specially designed for decoding brainwave information, may replace traditional computer devices used in BCI due to its more portable size, precision in decoding, high efficiency in computing and faster communication ability.

Ming Dong, director of the Academy of Medical Engineering and Translational Medicine in Tianjin University, said the chip can identify minor neuron information sent by the brain wave from the cerebral cortex, efficiently decode the information and greatly quicken the communication speed between the brain and machine.

"Brain Talker makes BCI technology more promising for civil use since the chip is more portable, wearable and simpler," Ming added.

Brain Talker was co-developed by Tianjin University and China Electronics Corporation with fully independent intellectual property rights.

Cheng Longlong, a data scientist from China Electronics Corporation, said scientists would endeavor to enhance the performance of the chip for wider use in the fields of medical treatment, education, home life and gaming in the future.

6d1906aee46d462fb860abcfc14d1061.jpg
 
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He Tingbo, president of Huawei chip division Hi-Silicon, called the American decision to put it on the Entity List “insane” in a letter to employees translated by CNBC. She said the company has been preparing for it for several years, and that Huawei has been creating “spare tires” — apparently referring to extra components that would allow the company to survive if the U.S. cut off the fresh supply.

“All the ‘spare tires’ we’ve created are no longer spare,” He said in the letter.


https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/17/hua...ide-but-it-says-it-can-survive-blacklist.html

In an internal memo seen by CNN Business, HiSilicon chief He Tingbo said the company had assumed that "one day, all advanced chips and technologies in the US will not be available."

To ensure Huawei could continue to serve customers, HiSilicon created "spare tires" so the company would survive, she said.

The United States has "made the most insane decision and put Huawei into the [controlled export list]," she wrote. "Today, as history has made the choice, the spare tires we built have turned in to 'Plan A' overnight."


https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/17/tech/huawei-us-ban-suppliers/index.html

I heard of such plan B before from my colleagues husband. They have all the component designs ready.
 
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the key is how to manufacture it
We are stuck at 14nm. Unless Trump creates another weapon banning any foundry from helping China manufacture chips, the only way is for TSMC to spin off a subsidiary and move it to China specifically for Chinese market.
 
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We are stuck at 14nm. Unless Trump creates another weapon banning any foundry from helping China manufacture chips, the only way is for TSMC to spin off a subsidiary and move it to China specifically for Chinese market.


It wont last long. The spin off subsidiary (whether still under TSMC or not) will be banned from purchasing new equipment from US and at the end their manufacturing equipment will be obsolete.
 
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