Chinese semiconductor industry

tonyget said:

I think there is a misunderstanding here.

Firstly，the latest US BIS statement did not mention any specific detail regarding equipment export control. Below is the original US BIS statement. It says that "Imposes controls on additional types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment", but did not specify the exact types of concern.

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Secondly，ASML response to this was as follow. Again, all they said, was "it is our understanding that the new regulations will be applicable to a limited number of fabs in China related to advanced semiconductor manufacturing". They didn't say anything about 1980i

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So at this point，it is not clear whether lithography machine or any specific model of such machine is being affected

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ASML said on the earnings call that 1980Di will become off limits for "a handful of fabs" that are doing advanced semiconductor manufacturing in China, but "not for the vast majority of our Chinese customers."

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huemens said:

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Could you provide the original link of ASML earnings call，and indicate where this statement located？


Because I look through all ASML Q3 reports，couldn't find any where 1980i is being mentioned

tonyget said:

Could you provide the original link of ASML earnings call？

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I don't have. I read the Nikkei article. They also said it would impact only 10% to 15% of ASML shipments to China.

huemens said:

I don't have. I read the Nikkei article. They also said it would impact only 10% to 15% of ASML shipments to China.

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I look through all ASML Q3 reports，couldn't find any where 1980i is being mentioned

earnings call comments will not be on the earnings report itself.

It's unclear to me how US can stop transfer of lithography machines without US tech to China, but I guess we will find out exactly what is blocked over time. Either way, I don't think this really is a big deal, since the recent import activities signal a huge stocking up of ASML lithography machines in anticipation of this

If the US bans export of 1980i immersion lithography tools to China it will impact expansion of SMIC to 28nm and possibly other fabs. ASML is being disingenuous here, since immersion lithography tools are much more expensive than older types of tools, and SMIC is expanding capacity of 28nm hugely (by 340 000 wafers per month). Only the memory fabs like YMTC and CXMT combined would have similar demand. And they are also banned.

tphuang said:

earnings call comments will not be on the earnings report itself.

It's unclear to me how US can stop transfer of lithography machines without US tech to China, but I guess we will find out exactly what is blocked over time. Either way, I don't think this really is a big deal, since the recent import activities signal a huge stocking up of ASML lithography machines in anticipation of this

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That article has a Dylan Patel quote. He says 1980 contains US tech.

Dylan Patel, chief analyst at semiconductor research company Semianalysis, said the U.S. is employing the de minimis rule, which states tools with American content and possessing certain capabilities cannot be shipped to China without a license. Patel said this means the rules will likely go beyond the scope of the Netherlands' controls, as the 1980Di contains American technologies.
"The restrictions around the 1980Di would be a significant problem for the Chinese semiconductor industry because it is required for all 28-nm nodes," Patel said.

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The Dutch ASML 1980i uses a US ASML Cymer ArF light source. It has competition with light sources not made in the US, like the Japanese Nikon immersion tools which use light sources by Japanese Gigaphoton, but the US will have closed that avenue as well. Japan pretty much does everything the US government asks for as a US colony.

SMEE needs to get that 28nm lithography tool working and in serial production.

gelgoog said:

The Dutch ASML 1980i uses a US ASML Cymer ArF light source. It has competition with light sources not made in the US, like the Japanese Nikon immersion tools which use light sources by Japanese Gigaphoton, but the US will have closed that avenue as well. Japan pretty much does everything the US government asks for as a US colony.

SMEE needs to get that 28nm lithography tool working and in serial production.

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ASML tools can be used with Gigaphoton sources. That was part of the deal with the Japanese government to allow ASML to buy Cymer. Those are probably the ones that Chinese fabs are buying. As far I understand the Japanese didn't include ArFi light sources in their export controls but I think ASML should reconsider to allow their scanners to be fitted with RSLaser light sources.
I could be probably that some companies already had manage to fit RSLasers DUV sources into ASML scanners, its remember me the investment that SMIC and Huawei did on RSLaser.