Chinese semiconductor thread II

[ForcedTrend]

After being placed on the U.S. Entity List, YMTC has been working aggressively to replace all equipment on its new production lines with domestically sourced Chinese tools. The company expects the buildout of these fully localized production lines to be completed by 2030.

The executive also shared a story with me. In 2022, when the U.S. announced sanctions on YMTC and required all engineers from U.S. equipment vendors supporting the company to withdraw immediately, those foreign engineers reportedly went to hotels in downtown Wuhan that same afternoon to apply for jobs at YMTC. They were all hired on the spot, reissued access badges by HR, and continued maintaining the same U.S.-made equipment they had previously supported.

These two companies — YMTC and CXMT — have effectively become China’s national champions in memory, and may emerge as the biggest beneficiaries of the current memory supercycle.

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[tphuang]

After being placed on the U.S. Entity List, YMTC has been working aggressively to replace all equipment on its new production lines with domestically sourced Chinese tools. The company expects the buildout of these fully localized production lines to be completed by 2030.

The executive also shared a story with me. In 2022, when the U.S. announced sanctions on YMTC and required all engineers from U.S. equipment vendors supporting the company to withdraw immediately, those foreign engineers reportedly went to hotels in downtown Wuhan that same afternoon to apply for jobs at YMTC. They were all hired on the spot, reissued access badges by HR, and continued maintaining the same U.S.-made equipment they had previously supported.

These two companies — YMTC and CXMT — have effectively become China’s national champions in memory, and may emerge as the biggest beneficiaries of the current memory supercycle.

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what's the significance of this substack? Why are we treating this as news?

It's been reported for several months now that YMTC already has fully domestic production line that it is testing out and expect to start production in 2026H1 or has already started production. So, why are we using this 2030 nonsensical talking point?

 

[sunnymaxi]

Interesting development..

CXMT's DRAM is being used by Corsair for its DDR5 memory modules. Corsair is one of the top US-based PC components manufacturers, including memory modules.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2057749975845716115

 

[tokenanalyst]

Zhejiang Jingrui SuperSiC Accelerates 8-Inch SiC Wafer Production​

Zhejiang Jingrui SuperSiC, a subsidiary of Jingsheng Mechanical & Electrical (300316.SZ), is rapidly accelerating the commissioning of a major project to produce 600,000 8-inch silicon carbide (SiC) substrates annually. The company is launching a new phase of infrastructure construction to meet the explosive demand from the AI, AR, and new energy vehicle sectors.

The industry is transitioning from 6-inch to 8-inch wafers as the new mainstream standard. 8-inch substrates offer a 78% increase in area, increase the number of diced chips per wafer by 1.8–2 times, reduce edge loss, and lower wafer costs by 35% while pushing yields over 90%.

Zhejiang Jingrui SuperSiC is a fully integrated supplier with self-developed capabilities across the entire production chain (crystal growth, cutting, polishing, and testing). The new expansion features a fully automated, unmanned smart factory with digital management to guarantee automotive-grade reliability and traceability.​

• Global Production Layout ("Domestic + Overseas" Matrix):
  • Malaysia Expansion: A new facility in Penang completed its main structure in January 2026 and is expected to be operational by the end of the year. It will serve as Jingsheng Mechanical & Electrical's first overseas large-scale compound semiconductor base, with a first-phase capacity of 240,000 8-inch SiC substrates annually.​
  • Domestic Bases: The Malaysia plant complements existing domestic operations in Zhejiang (Shangyu) and Ningxia (Yinchuan), creating a diversified global supply guarantee system.​

Coinciding with Jingsheng Mechanical & Electrical’s 20th anniversary, the company is leveraging its "equipment + materials" dual-engine strategy. By maintaining independent, controllable supply chains, the company aims to help China’s semiconductor materials industry transition from simply keeping pace with global competitors to achieving "global leadership" in SiC materials.

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[tokenanalyst]

Ruilian New Materials: Several core photoresist monomers and PSPI packaging materials have completed customer verification.​

Recently, Ruilian New Materials stated during an institutional survey that the company will focus on developing its semiconductor electronic materials business in 2026, and progress is going smoothly: multiple products, including core photoresist monomers and PSPI packaging materials, have completed customer verification, and mature products have achieved stable mass supply.

Supporting domestic substitution is a long-term direction for the company. Ruilian New Materials was one of the first companies to provide high-quality liquid crystal monomers to three domestic mixed crystal manufacturers, and is currently also supplying OLED pre-sublimation materials to domestic customers. In the electronic materials sector, the company's products focus on the field of high-end photoresist materials, with the important goal of achieving domestic substitution. Several domestic substitution products are currently undergoing customer verification.

Regarding capacity expansion, the company's photosensitive polyimide material project for packaging is under construction and is expected to be completed in May 2027. The project has a designed capacity of 200 tons, and the ramp-up to full production will depend on customer order demand. Currently, the company has an existing capacity of approximately 60 tons of various polyimide monomer materials.

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[tokenanalyst]

Jiangsu's semiconductor industry is accelerating its breakthrough towards high-end technologies.​

Driven by surging AI computing demands and the push for domestic self-sufficiency, Jiangsu province is rapidly transitioning its semiconductor industry from foundational supply chain improvements to high-end technological breakthroughs. In 2026, the provincial government intensified its strategic support by listing integrated circuits as a top research priority and launching over 100 major semiconductor projects. Key infrastructure advancements include Huahong Semiconductor’s massive Phase II 12-inch wafer plant in Wuxi and its newly initiated Phase III expansion, alongside concentrated investments in critical materials, core equipment, and the newly established billion-yuan Jingjiang Pan-Semiconductor Industrial Park.

This industrial momentum is strongly reflected in the capital markets, where Jiangsu’s semiconductor sector is experiencing a dual leap in both corporate quantity and quality. Several regional firms, such as advanced packaging company Shenghe Jingwei and precision component maker Torrens, have recently secured massive IPOs or expedited listings on major stock exchanges. Furthermore, established listed companies are reporting record-breaking financial performances; packaging giants like JCET and Tongfu Microelectronics hit historical revenue highs in 2025, while analog and power chipmakers like Silergy achieved massive year-on-year growth, bolstered by the rapid emergence of state-recognized specialized "little giant" enterprises.

To sustain this aggressive growth, Jiangsu has cultivated a highly coordinated, tiered regional development pattern that leverages the unique manufacturing strengths of its various cities. Suzhou has emerged as a powerhouse for photonics, pioneering China's first 8-inch silicon-based photonic chip mass production line, while Wuxi solidifies its dominance in large-scale 12-inch wafer manufacturing with major players like Huahong, SK Hynix, and CR Micro. Meanwhile, Nantong and Jingjiang are evolving into crucial hubs for core semiconductor equipment parts, and emerging cities like Lianyungang and Yancheng are strategically filling supply chain gaps by focusing on specialized wet electronic chemicals and precision components.

Ultimately, this synchronized expansion across infrastructure, capital, and regional clusters positions Jiangsu at the forefront of China's semiconductor evolution, securing its vital role in the high-end global supply chain.​

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[jx191]

After being placed on the U.S. Entity List, YMTC has been working aggressively to replace all equipment on its new production lines with domestically sourced Chinese tools. The company expects the buildout of these fully localized production lines to be completed by 2030.

The executive also shared a story with me. In 2022, when the U.S. announced sanctions on YMTC and required all engineers from U.S. equipment vendors supporting the company to withdraw immediately, those foreign engineers reportedly went to hotels in downtown Wuhan that same afternoon to apply for jobs at YMTC. They were all hired on the spot, reissued access badges by HR, and continued maintaining the same U.S.-made equipment they had previously supported.

These two companies — YMTC and CXMT — have effectively become China’s national champions in memory, and may emerge as the biggest beneficiaries of the current memory supercycle.

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I'm pretty sure they already have a domestic line but it doesn't get enough attention for how significant it is.

Especially the lithography machine, we've heard multiple sources talk about how SMEE domestic lithography machine has made its debut in a fully domestic YMTC line.

 

[tokenanalyst]

Photomask substrate manufacturer ChipInfo has established its headquarters in Suzhou and plans to begin mass production within the year.​

According to the official WeChat account of Suzhou International Science and Technology Park (SISPARK), on May 19, Xinrong Micro (Suzhou) Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Xinrong Micro") officially signed an agreement to settle in Hengtai Intelligent Manufacturing Semiconductor Industrial Park located in Suzhou Industrial Park.

It is understood that Xinrong Micro focuses on the localization of mid-to-high-end photomask substrates, focusing on advanced semiconductor processes and high-precision flat panel displays, while also taking into account the low-to-mid-end market. It helps the domestic semiconductor and display industry chain achieve self-reliance and control, and has accumulated profound experience in key processes such as polishing, homogenization, and coating in photomask substrate manufacturing.

This time, Xinrong Micro is expected to move in in June, start trial production in September, and achieve mass production within the year. It plans to launch a semiconductor R&D project in 2027, using its strong capabilities to drive the company's growth.​

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[tokenanalyst]

Piotech showcases its 3D IC technology achievements in Haining, Zhejiang.​

Topwin Technology has actively entered the 3D integration equipment field, independently developing and launching hybrid bonding and fusion bonding equipment, along with supporting quantity measurement equipment, forming a complete product matrix. Through continuous technological innovation and product iteration, the company's 3D integration equipment business has achieved large-scale breakthroughs and commercialization.

The world's first Volans 300 bond void repair device , newly launched by Topwin in March this year , made a brilliant appearance at this exhibition.

This equipment solves the problem of repairing voids at the bonding interface, improves the yield of 3D IC products and the stability of the production line, and fully demonstrates the company's technological leadership.

Currently, the company's products have been widely used in various fields such as advanced storage, advanced logic, and image sensors, providing the industry with three-dimensional integrated end-to-end technical solutions.

This exhibition fully demonstrated Topwin Technology's technological strength in the fields of 3D IC and advanced bonding. In the future, the company will continue to deepen its core technologies, continuously improve its 3D integration equipment layout, empower the upgrading of domestic semiconductor equipment through independent innovation, and contribute to the high-quality development of the global semiconductor industry.

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[tokenanalyst]

Significant progress has been made in the research of intelligent and compact modeling of microelectronic devices.​

To meet the development needs of novel semiconductor devices and advanced integration technologies in the post-Moore's Law era, Design-Process Co-optimization (DTCO) is driving the collaborative design of materials, devices, processes, and circuit systems. As a crucial bridge connecting device physics and circuit design, compact models directly impact the efficiency of introducing novel devices into the circuit design process, supporting system optimization, and application exploration. With the development of new materials, new device structures, back-to-line integration (BEOL), and monolithic 3D integration technologies, traditional physical compact models face challenges in model construction, parameter extraction, and cross-structure transfer. Artificial intelligence provides a new technical path for device modeling, but purely data-driven models still suffer from insufficient physical consistency, ambiguous analytical representation, and difficulty in deployment to standard EDA processes such as Verilog-A/SPICE. Developing intelligent compact modeling methods that combine accuracy, interpretability, and deployability has become an important research direction in the field of AI for EDA.

To address the aforementioned challenges, the research team of Li Ling and Wang Lingfei from the State Key Laboratory of Integrated Circuit Manufacturing Technology at the Institute of Microelectronics, in collaboration with the University of Hong Kong and Southern University of Science and Technology, proposed a physical prior-guided intelligent compact modeling framework, constructing a complete technical route of "neural network learning—symbolic model distillation—Verilog-A/SPICE circuit deployment." This method utilizes the EKAN network to learn the device characteristics of novel transistors under multidimensional bias, structural parameters, and temperature conditions, and further refines the neural network model into a symbolic compact model with a clear analytical expression, thereby achieving a combination of high-precision data learning and interpretable model expression.

The related work was validated in the simulation of oxide transistors and their DRAM/SRAM circuits, demonstrating that the method can support novel device modeling, device-circuit co-optimization, and rapid technology path exploration. This research provides new insights into the application of artificial intelligence methods in the automatic construction of compact models, physical prior modeling, and EDA process deployment.

The related paper, titled "A Physics-Prior Intelligent Compact Modeling Framework for BEOL-Compatible DTCO: EKAN-Based Distillation from Neural to Symbolic Models," has been selected for The Chips to Systems Conference (DAC), a top conference in the field of chip design automation, in 2026. Xu Fan Li, a doctoral student at the Institute of Microelectronics, and Yi Li, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hong Kong, are co-first authors. Associate Researcher Zhenjie Yao, Researcher Lingfei Wang, and Researcher Ling Li are the corresponding authors.

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