Chinese semiconductor industry

"No, the only device US has the power over is EUV. All of ASML's DUV can't be restricted by USA. However, the Netherlands has agreed to possibly look into banning 2000 and 2050 DUV. So technically not America but still being restricted."
Unfortunately not, US sanctions at this point give the US carte blanche to effectively shut down ASML as a corporate entity able to operate with a bank account if the US chooses to put DUV exports to China on its sanctions list and if ASML were to violate that regulation. That might require a statutory authorization from Congress, but it would pass and Biden would sign it.
There was a thread about this topic about four months and I am not going to replay that thread, but what I am saying is correct. I wish that were not the case, but it is.
I am not saying that will happen and ASML is lobbying hard against such a limitation, but if the US in its wisdom so decides to restrict that, it will be done and ASML will obey.

Schmoe said:

I am curious on this quote from the tphuang post above: "It is likely in my opinion that SMSC has been trialing/validating domestic tool in a de-americanized process (so ASML + domestic tools)." Wouldn't ASML be considered an Americanized tool since they need US licenses?

Also, it would be great to get a translation of that quote.

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well, it's not an issue, since they already got those machines. You see it's also not an issue they use AMAT/Lam machine right now since they already have them.

And they should have enough ASML machines for SN1 and most likely SN2 before the sanctions come into play. In fact, I anticipate SN2 to end up being more than 35k wpm

Schmoe said:

I am curious on this quote from the tphuang post above: "It is likely in my opinion that SMSC has been trialing/validating domestic tool in a de-americanized process (so ASML + domestic tools)." Wouldn't ASML be considered an Americanized tool since they need US licenses?

Also, it would be great to get a translation of that quote.

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De americanized means no lam or amat tools, non-chinese tools are in the category so long as they're made outside the US, though in practice de-americanized often means nearly all local except for lithography

Thanks. I assume that those lines would also require cutting-edge photoresist materials.

tphuang said:

so, I'm seeing this rumor flying around on Chinese social media.

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Now, why this is believable despite being rumors. @hvpc has mentioned that SMSC has about 20k wpm of production based on equipment that Lam/Amat sold to them. My personal calculation is that by second half of last year, they were doing approximately 23k wpm.

it makes sense for SMSC Fab 1 is placing order now for close to 10k wpm of production, since delivery likely won't happen until Q4 at the earliest, so production with it can't start until probably 2024Q2. Since SN2 is supposed to start production in Q3 of next year (based on the bidding info), it would make sense for Fab 1 to ramp up to full over 2024.

It is likely in my opinion that SMSC has been trialing/validating domestic tool in a de-americanized process (so ASML + domestic tools). Maybe this is feedback that early trials are looking up to par, so they are further going ahead with it. That doesn't necessarily mean they have moved past testing production at this point.

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I'm confused. Is fab 1 the place where their existing 14/7 nm production with American tools is happening, or is it the first place with a de americanized line for those nodes?

China may be cut off from advanced semiconductor tech but analysts are optimistic that China will still find a way to build its own.
“I don’t underestimate China’s ability and resolve to find a way to build next generation technologies and to also utilize some lagging technologies to still build really important products,” Daniel Newman, CEO and principal analyst at research firm Futurum Group, told CNBC.
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said last week that the resources China is dedicating into its chip industry is “quite massive, so you can’t underestimate them.”

Zhenhai District, Ningbo City will issue a new policy for the IC industry, or set up a tens of billions of funds​

According to news from Jiwei.com, on June 5, Ningbo Zhenhai District Economic and Information Bureau issued the "Special Policy for the Development of Integrated Circuit Industry in Zhenhai District (Draft for Comment)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Draft for Comment") to accelerate the promotion of Zhenhai District High-quality development of the integrated circuit industry.

The "Draft for Comments" proposes to encourage the introduction and investment of integrated circuit industry projects, accelerate the cultivation and growth of integrated circuit enterprises, encourage integrated circuit enterprises to strengthen research and development and innovation, and improve the ecology of the integrated circuit industry.

Encourage the introduction and investment of integrated circuit industry projects

Article 1 For integrated circuit manufacturing projects with a fixed asset investment scale of 50 million yuan (inclusive) or more (excluding land payments), rewards will be given not exceeding 20% of the actual total investment, with a maximum of 10 million yuan. For integrated circuit technology transformation projects with an equipment investment of more than 2 million yuan (inclusive), rewards will be given not exceeding 10% of the actual total investment, with a maximum of 8 million yuan.

Article 2 For a newly established integrated circuit design (including EDA tool research and development) enterprise, within two years from the date of settlement, the annual operating income reaches 5 million yuan (inclusive) for the first time and the technical team has more than 5 people (inclusive) in place. No more than 10% of its main business income, with a maximum reward of 2 million yuan; if the annual business income reaches 20 million yuan (inclusive) for the first time and the technical team has more than 10 people (inclusive), it will be given no more than its main business income 10%, with a maximum reward of 8 million yuan.

Article 3 For the land use of leading enterprises in the integrated circuit industry or projects with an investment of more than 500 million yuan (inclusive) in fixed assets (excluding land payments), the reserve price for land transfer may be determined at no less than the benchmark land price after collective decision-making by the district government.

Article 4 For newly introduced integrated circuit enterprises, after one fiscal year of settlement and operation, a 50% subsidy will be given to the rental costs of office R&D or production premises. The annual subsidy area of each enterprise shall not exceed 2,000 square meters, and the monthly unit price per square meter shall not exceed 35 yuan per square meter; the subsidy period shall not exceed three years.

For newly introduced integrated circuit companies, a subsidy of 8% of the actual purchase price of office R&D or production premises will be given.

The total amount of subsidy for a single enterprise shall not exceed 5 million yuan.

Article 5 For integrated circuit projects with an actual investment of more than 50 million yuan (inclusive), a discount reward of no more than 50% of the LPR interest on new loans and a maximum of 5 million yuan will be given.

Accelerate the Cultivation and Growth of Integrated Circuit Enterprises

Article 6 Rewards for stepping up to the next level shall be given to integrated circuit companies in stages according to subdivided industries:

Chip design category: If the annual operating income exceeds 20 million yuan, 50 million yuan, and 100 million yuan for the first time, the company will be given a one-time reward of 500,000 yuan, 1 million yuan, and 3 million yuan respectively. When the enterprise enjoys this policy, it shall be implemented according to the principle of "from high to low");

Wafer manufacturing category: If the annual operating income exceeds 500 million yuan, 2.5 billion yuan, and 5 billion yuan for the first time, the company will be given a one-time reward of 500,000 yuan, 2 million yuan, and 4 million yuan, respectively;

Material equipment and packaging and testing: For the first time that the annual operating income exceeds 100 million yuan, 500 million yuan, and 1 billion yuan, the company will be given a one-time reward of 500,000 yuan, 1 million yuan, and 2 million yuan, respectively.

Article 7 Support enterprises in the region to carry out industrial chain cooperation, and reward the procurement of products in key links of upstream and downstream integrated circuit enterprises in the region.

For enterprises (excluding integrated component manufacturers) that provide packaging and testing for integrated circuit design enterprises, financial support will be given at a rate of 5% of the packaging and testing costs, and the total annual support for a single enterprise will not exceed 2 million yuan.

For integrated circuit production enterprises whose open production capacity is enterprise OEM tape-out (8-inch and above), financial support will be given at the standard of 100 yuan per piece (converted by 8 inches), and the total annual support for a single enterprise will not exceed 8 million yuan.

For the first purchase of chips or modules independently developed by integrated circuit companies, and the cumulative annual purchase amount is more than 500,000 yuan (inclusive), a one-time reward of up to 500,000 yuan will be given in proportion to 10% of the actual purchase amount ; For the first purchase of equipment and materials independently developed and produced by enterprises in the first-use zone, and the cumulative annual purchase amount is more than 1 million yuan (inclusive), a one-time reward of up to 1 million yuan will be given in proportion to 10% of the actual purchase amount.

Encourage integrated circuit companies to strengthen research and development and innovation

Article 8 Encourage integrated circuit companies to strengthen the research and development of "stuck neck" technology and import substitution technology, and give a reward of 20,000 yuan to integrated circuit companies that obtain invention patent authorization for the first time (patent rights have not been transferred outside the administrative area of Zhenhai District). Integrated circuit companies with more than 10 patents authorized (patent rights not transferred outside the administrative area of Zhenhai District) will be given a one-time reward of 150,000 yuan.

Article 9 Support industry leading enterprises, key colleges and universities, and scientific research institutions to lead and participate in the formulation of integrated circuit industry standards, lead the formulation of international standards, lead the revision of international standards, and lead the revision of national standards. Each enterprise (organization) will be given no more than One-time rewards of RMB 500,000, RMB 200,000 and RMB 100,000.

Improve the integrated circuit industry ecology

Article 10 encourages the introduction and establishment of public service platforms for integrated circuit design, testing, and intellectual property rights. For newly-built professional technology or comprehensive technology service platforms, 20% of the self-raised investment in project equipment will be rewarded, with a maximum of 5 million yuan. For public service platforms (institutions) with more than 20 integrated circuit small and medium-sized enterprises in the service area, a reward of no more than 3 million yuan per year will be given in proportion to 10% of their service income.

Article 11 In conjunction with the municipal integrated circuit industry investment fund, a special investment fund for the district's integrated circuit industry shall be established, with a scale of no less than 10 billion yuan, which shall be implemented in phases and operated according to a market-oriented mechanism.

Schmoe said:

" Wouldn't ASML be considered an Americanized tool since they need US licenses?

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Depends if the ligth source come for Cymer or Gigaphoton, if comes from Cymer yes they need an export license from the US but if is fitted with Gigaphoton DUV lasers then is up to the Japanese and Dutch goverment. Most of the ASML computational lithography used in China is made in China in Shenzhen and also their metrology tools in Beijing. The ideal situation would be if ASML could validate RSLaser as a supplier but RSLaser manufacturing capabilities as now can barely supply SMEE and would be tedious process to get validated by ASML.

Jingsheng Electromechanical signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Western Superconductor​

Western Superconductor

Biren Tech's BR104P has been validated with 上海道客网络科技有限公司 (DaoCloud)'s DaoCloud Enterprise 5.0.
We see many announcements like this from Moore Threads. So it's good to see Biren's products finally getting validated & deployed on more 3rd party cloud