2023-09-05 20:30:03
News JVTech China is coming: it already has a 7nm SoC and it will be in Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro, according to TechInsights
Published on 05/09/2023 at 22:30
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This is the big surprise: China probably has the necessary devices to manufacture very thin chips. A surprise that was ultimately rather inevitable given the events of recent months.
The Chinese lithographic surprise
China is currently making headlines on the international scene with a significant technological advance that is not going unnoticed. This breakthrough lies in the integration of a 7-nanometer SoC (embedded chip) in Huawei’s next flagship, the Mate 60 Pro. This information comes to us from
TechInsights
a reliable source in the past.
The frantic race for technological supremacy between China and the United States is in full swing and it seems to show no signs of slowing down. To better understand this Chinese advance, let’s go back a few months. In August 2022, Chinese media revealed that the Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), China’s largest semiconductor maker with a market share of around 5%, had taken a major step by acquiring the skills to produce 7nm chips. This acquisition of skills was crucial for China, which had long aspired to develop its own cutting-edge technology in lithography.
However, last May, an unexpected situation occurred, casting a veil of uncertainty over the ambitions of the SMIC. Under the pressure of American sanctions, the SMIC abruptly ended the production of 14 nm chips, a key technology in the field of semiconductors. This decision left many questions unanswered, but the SMIC seemed determined to overcome these obstacles.
Has China succeeded?
The key moment came when Huawei unveiled its Mate 60 Pro equipped with the Kirin 9000S SoC, produced by SMIC. What caught everyone’s attention was that this chip would most likely be made with second-generation 7nm technology.
This development suggests that the SMIC now has the lithography equipment needed to produce chips in 7 nm, or even 5 nm. This is a major step forward for China, which demonstrates its ability to produce its own advanced semiconductors, thereby reducing its dependence on foreign suppliers.
But what does this breakthrough mean for the United States and its allies? While they can rely on future large-aperture EUV lithography to maintain their competitiveness, the rapid rise of SMIC is a clear reminder that undervaluing China in the tech space would be a big mistake.
One of the last brakes on the massive technological expansion of China is thus in the process of collapsing. With years of putting the brakes on the country, they finally got by. Which means that in addition to no longer being customers, they have become competitors… Because it was obvious that China would catch up one day or another.
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