The U.S. export control upgrade not only cuts off TSMC’s 7nm supply to mainland China but also restricts Samsung

[Daniel Nenni]

Samsung. Associated Press

It is imperative that the U.S. export control measures be upgraded. It has been reported in the market that not only TSMC (2330) will cut off the supply of 7nm AI chips to non-consumer customers in China due to regulatory compliance, but Samsung will also be unable to accept production orders due to restrictions. The industry believes that this is equivalent to certainty Specific AI/GPU ASIC manufacturers in the mainland market will not be able to obtain advanced process production capacity below 7 nanometers in the short term. As for Intel, which is also subject to regulatory restrictions, naturally its IFS cannot operate for related manufacturers.

This newspaper reported on the 8th that U.S. export controls may be upgraded in the future. There are rumors in the market that TSMC will suspend the supply of technologies below 7 nanometers to all mainland AI customers from the 11th. Regarding related issues, TSMC did not comment on market rumors on the 8th.

However, TSMC also emphasized again on the 8th that "As a law-abiding company, TSMC has always been committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations, including applicable export control regulations."

Coincidentally, it is not only reported that TSMC has sent a letter to all AI customers in mainland China, informing them that starting from November 11, 7nm will suspend the supply of all 7nm and more advanced process technologies to AI/GPU customers in mainland China. At the same time, Samsung's wafer foundry business unit also issued relevant notices to customers, and the relevant information has triggered discussions in the industry.

The industry also said that from the perspective of mainland-funded manufacturers, the yield rate of SMIC's 7nm process is still low and the output is limited. It can still be produced by DUV production regardless of the cost. However, in actual AI and GPU applications, few commercial customers have put it into production. , which also makes the suspension of order production by TSMC and Samsung due to regulatory restrictions undoubtedly a heavy blow to the operations of mainland AI/ASIC manufacturers.

美出口管制升級 不只傳台積電7奈米斷供大陸三星也限制 | 國際焦點 | 國際 | 經濟日報

美國出口管制措施升級勢在必行，市場已傳出，不只台積電（2330）因法規遵循7奈米將斷供大陸AI晶片非消費客戶，三星也因應...

money.udn.com

 

[Daniel Nenni]

TSMC's move to cut off Chinese chip firms weighs on annual Beijing semiconductor forum

Chinese chip industry experts and investors have congregated in Beijing for one of the largest annual chip forums to discuss the impact of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) cutting advanced foundry services for some mainland clients and the outlook for the country's chip sector...

www.yahoo.com

 

[chenyj]

From the media report in Chinese websites, Huawei Mate 70 (Kirin 9100) is a 6nm process. From what we know, its BEOL critical layer probably is fabricated by the dual-material（DM）SAQP process with the minimum metal pitch of 30-34nm. It's similar to Intel's N10 M0，but without incorporating self-aligned vias. This is probably the last generation of DM SAQP flow with non-self-aligned vias.

 

[samwilde]

The industry also said that from the perspective of mainland-funded manufacturers, the yield rate of SMIC's 7nm process is still low and the output is limited. It can still be produced by DUV production regardless of the cost. However, in actual AI and GPU applications, few commercial customers have put it into production. , which also makes the suspension of order production by TSMC and Samsung due to regulatory restrictions undoubtedly a heavy blow to the operations of mainland AI/ASIC manufacturers.

"Few commercial customers". Biren and Huawei are supposedly using it and both are sanctioned. Those are two of the largest players in AI chips in China. Biren is supposedly aiming for an IPO soon. You would think they wouldn't do that unless they had some kind of product to sell.

Look, China is probably going to be able to make its own immersion lithography machines over the next two years. Initially they will only be capable of 28nm. But that will mean companies like SMIC will be able to redeploy all their imported ASML immersion machines bought pre-sanctions, which are capable of being used to make FinFET, into the FinFET factories. And eventually their own Chinese immersion lithography machines will be able to cope with the task.

What this will do is piss off the Chinese and ensure that by the time you want to cut off their access to AI in the middle of a conflict they will have their own production. These retroactive laws, because that is what they are, will do a lot of harm to the West. I would certainly be pissed off if I spent hundreds of millions to tapeout a chip at TSMC or Samsung and was told I could not manufacture it anymore. In fact I would sue TSMC in China and ask for damages to the court. Either TSMC coughs up the money or their assets in China are arrested. I am surprised this has not happened yet. In the case of the Chinese foundries these semi tools purchases are in the billions. Once China can make their own tools I doubt those companies will look again at a Western offer.

 

[ai268]

Look, China is probably going to be able to make its own immersion lithography machines over the next two years

Are "ALL" components 100% made in China by Chinese companies? Or just assembled in China, like iPhone?

 

[samwilde]

The Chinese are going to make their own light sources, optics, and dual wafer stage. What else do you want to know?

Do you think the US is going to let Gigaphoton or Cymer sell them light sources? Or let Nikon or ZEISS sell them optics?

The Chinese are currently one of the leaders in optical reconnaissance satellites, and they make military grade combat lasers. And yet some people think they cannot make a lithography machine if they want to.

It was considered a niche market, with long R&D time and few customers, so the commercial sector in China did not see any profit in it, while the government does not need the latest and greatest chips to put in weapons. They use legacy chips for the most part. So the Chinese government did not mind keeping the technology at that kind of level. They had other funding priorities. Things are changing.