GCIB (gas cluster ion beam) polishing for EUV optics. GCIB is an emerging next-gen polishing tech that may replace CMP. TEL recently introduced the first GCIB tool for corrective etching, which could reduce EUV double patterning to single patterning
Chinese semiconductor thread II
- Thread starter vincent
- Start date
GCIB (gas cluster ion beam) polishing for EUV optics. GCIB is an emerging next-gen polishing tech that may replace CMP. TEL recently introduced the first GCIB tool for corrective etching, which could reduce EUV double patterning to single patterning
this is really curious. Especially the part about CETC putting it on its GaN devices. I'm sure Huawei also will use it in stuff other than "cooling". After all, diamond substrate is very useful in any kind of high power RF applications.
Smartsense with its new generation 50MP CMOS SC595XS ship.
Not really sure who the intended customers are yet, but I'd imagine they have a couple of OEMs lined up
Some confirmation of my doubts of the ASML claim that sales of tools to China would decrease starting this year.
"SMIC plans $7bn expansion despite tariff uncertainty
Co-CEO says auto chip demand now a key driver for growth amid localization push
...
May 9, 2025
TAIPEI -- China's top chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., says it will invest more than $7 billion this year to expand capacity and market share, even as its peers take a cautious stance due to the tariff war between Washington and Beijing.
...
"We have observed positive signals that various industries have bottomed out, including industrial and automotive," Zhao said. "You will also find many global chip leaders in automotive and industrial chips pick SMIC as their preferred [production] partner for their new chip products."
...
Wu Junfeng, senior vice president who is in charge of finance, said capital spending for 2025 will remain at the 2024 level of $7.32 billion, a near-record for the Chinese chipmaker, as its priority is to "keep building capacity and enlarge market share." SMIC's international peers, such as United Microelectronics Corp. of Taiwan and GlobalFoundries of the U.S., have stayed cautious about capital spending in 2025 due to slower demand for mature chips and macroeconomic uncertainties."
"SMIC plans $7bn expansion despite tariff uncertainty
Co-CEO says auto chip demand now a key driver for growth amid localization push
...
May 9, 2025
TAIPEI -- China's top chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., says it will invest more than $7 billion this year to expand capacity and market share, even as its peers take a cautious stance due to the tariff war between Washington and Beijing.
...
"We have observed positive signals that various industries have bottomed out, including industrial and automotive," Zhao said. "You will also find many global chip leaders in automotive and industrial chips pick SMIC as their preferred [production] partner for their new chip products."
...
Wu Junfeng, senior vice president who is in charge of finance, said capital spending for 2025 will remain at the 2024 level of $7.32 billion, a near-record for the Chinese chipmaker, as its priority is to "keep building capacity and enlarge market share." SMIC's international peers, such as United Microelectronics Corp. of Taiwan and GlobalFoundries of the U.S., have stayed cautious about capital spending in 2025 due to slower demand for mature chips and macroeconomic uncertainties."
I doubt it. SMIC has been making smartphone chips with 7nm for years already. The yield should have improved enough to make a large area die by now.
AI chips and GPUs are also highly regular. Making it easier to improve the amount of good chips by disabling non-working units in the die.
AI chips and GPUs are also highly regular. Making it easier to improve the amount of good chips by disabling non-working units in the die.
SmartSens is partially owned by Huawei, so they have first dibs and most likely exclusivity on new sensors. The SC595XS will most likely be the main sensor on the Mate 80 Pro+ and the telephoto sensor on the Pura 90 Ultra, replacing the SC585XS. The SC5A5XS will most likely be the main sensor on the Pura 90 Ultra, replacing the SC5A0CS. The new sensors are pretty much the same as the old ones except with a newer process (22 nm vs. 28 nm) and higher dynamic range.
lol they might as well state 28nm, who knows