Chinese semiconductor thread II
- Thread starter vincent
- Start date
Is not being sold in the open market for anyone to buy. Is going mainly to sanctioned companies who ASML doesn´t do business anymore. ASML has another things to worry about the Chinese market.
-Their revenue from the country is falling faster than others foreign companies.
- A potential full ban from the country that the company can´t avoid because rely in critical components made in the US like ASML Wilston for metrology and wafer stages and ASML Cymer for light sources.
-SMEE ( or whatever they name themselves now) KrF lithography machines are a bigger threat than the Immersion machines because those are being sold outside the sanction regime.
- More domestic lithography companies in the market, with some already producing 350nm I-line steppers, so is a matter of time that they start producing 250nm I-line scanners.
-Domestic litho Metrology and computational lithography companies like DJEL are already eating through that market share.
-The inability to sell EUV scanners is accelerating the developing of a domestic EUV lithography supply chain in China that could end up not being compatible with ASML EUV offerings IF there is some relaxation in the sanctions.
Good enough to meet domestic needs and because the supply chain is domestically controlled prices can be cost down so multiple scanners can be put for the price of one.
Wafers per hour, not month.
as per this report they will produce 5-8 units in Q2. it means full year production maybe like 20-30 units which is enough to supply many fabs in mainland.
remember, YMTC have already fully domestic line running. Beijing Yandong too. there are many mature fabs in mainland. Huahong transition to FinFet.
well, it's just needed for the most critical layer IIRC?
so basically, this can fully replace 1980i IIRC (although at lower process rate).
Where are you getting this? It's in fact likely that SMEE just concentrate on ramping Arf/Arfi scanner production because their WPH rate is likely lower than that of ASML machines. So, they would concentrate on delivering to top end labs.
if you read the article. It says the machine being used is already at 90-95% yield. Which is quite significant.
And that they are delivering 5-8 in Q2
I guess you can compensate with multiple machines? SSA800 is likely less economical than ASML machines to start off. But given the latter might not have maintenance, seems like worth the trade off.
KrF development is pretty mature right now and it was pretty mature in the 600 series, RSLaser KrF light source was already developed in the 600 series, KrF optics and light sources are way cheaper and easier to make so I don´t think will bog down ArF/ArFi machines production .
Their machines where developed to be used along ASML machines, especially in metal layers and I think will be a prime target for entering the domestic lithography market for companies outside the sanction regime instead of going for the more risky ArF machines. Also can be used by mature nodes 130nm nodes by companies, like auto chips and MEMs.
Also you have to take into account that ASML makes machine for a global market and multiple pretty big companies. Domestic lithography machines performance has to be tied to domestic demand, for now, going for ASML performance from the start would probably bog down the development of domestic lithography machines unnecessary. The goal is not to compete with ASML, for now, but to meet domestic demands already sanctioned companies.
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600 series is already in serial production for quite some time.
800 series specifically developed to compete in immersion category coz US always threaten to cut off ASML supply. article says 800 series achieved mass production. it means SMEE planning to compete with ASML in DUVi category and obviously can't compare economically with ASML initially but can compensate in numbers.
remember @interestedseal did post about Lithography suppliers mass production plan in 2026. i believe from 2026 onward SMEE will increase immersion scanner production further. maybe we see improved SSA800 variant soon. i m sure improved version is already under development or near completion. this is the Chinese pattern in pretty much every high tech field.
In my opinion. Due its monopoly status ASML operate under pretty high margins. SMEE? will operate under lower margins, for now. My guess that most components are domestically manufactured. Looks like production is already ramping up so will be more costs reductions than in the R&D phase and with a little bit of help from subsidies these machines can be procured an at ever decreasing cost.