I thought Samsung had already took over that fab?
Chinese semiconductor industry
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Bad article translation. "02专项" is better translated as 02 special project and has existed since 2006. It's basically a term to refer to the series of projects with the broad long term goal of developing semiconductor technology. The goal in this specific case was the acceptance of the 193nm ArF Immersion DUV by 2021 with the benchmark being the ASML Twinscan NXT:2000i.
Clearly they weren't going to reach this goal. If SMEE did reach this goal, then their DUV would be capable of 7nm process nodes. I don't think anyone here actually expected them to achieve this in 2021. So to summarize SMEE didn't meet the 2021 goal of the 02 special project for lithography machine, but we didn't expect them to meet it in the first place.
I think the confusion here is that the video presenter's use of "28nm lithography machine" does not refer to the process node, but the DUV immersion lithography machine as a whole. Which I agree that by 2021 the SMEE DUV is not capable of 7nm. The next goal still remains demonstrating that the DUV is capable of mass production at the 14nm process.
"Semiconductor talent" is a broad term. Where China lags is manufacturing equipment and manufacturing process. That is the chokepoint. China needs a lot more people trained in basic sciences, such as physics, chemistry, mathematics, electrical and mechanical engineering, optics, and materials science, *NOT* chip design. But even after that, it will take years of practice and know-how to get the same level of talent that the West has, and by that time the West will have moved on to bigger and better. This is not an easy task at all and it requires a lot of people working overtime and a lot of patience. It essentially has to be treated as a wartime industry where you are already at war -- with that level of urgency.
That is why honestly China should invest more in researching leapfrog technologies, like photonic chips. These are still in their infancy and if China can start early there, it will be in an early mover position if not a first mover position.
We don't know, if they took ASML 2000i as a second benchmark that means they passed the first test, what would it be? the closest one will be ASML 1980di machine, good enough to make up to sub10nm nodes. There are several criteria to consider to determine the accuracy for certain nodes such as the accuracy of the wafer stage or overlay. The Numerical Aperture of the optic system.
sensors and software for correction of optical diffraction and aberration. And others. But at the end of the day I think it is the fab that decides how to use the machine and for which nodes to use it, because is not simply to have a lithography machine and boom making 7nm nodes, if so, any company with money could manufacture up to 5nm finfets.
The standard for self sufficiency from Russia = capable of doing it with foreign tools like how they imported Toshiba machine tools
The standard for self sufficiency from China = not even a single speck of paint can be from a foreign country otherwise it is the deepest dependence in the world.
No you are wrong. Sorry.
can you elaborate on which parts the poster was wrong?
My thoughts are the photonic chips may be a dead-end? but others with more knowledge can comment.
China and Chinese companies shouldn't deglobalize or isolate themselves but it should definitely de-Americanize at least its electronics industry and a good part of its technology sector if it wants those sectors to survive beyond 2030. It is not even a question of nationalism but of survival. There are groups of powerful neocons within the United States determined to stop the technological advance in China, they will do whatever its takes to archive that, even if they have to force the allies to comply. They are like terminators, you can't negotiate with them. If Trump wins in 2025, I think the situation could to be significantly worse than in 2018-2020. But if Chinese companies manage to de-Americanize a good chunk of their supply chain successfully, it will be more difficult for the United States to talk to their allies to isolate China.
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