It has been reported that Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (SMEE), China’s most successful lithography systems manufacturer, will deliver its first scanner capable of producing chips in the 28nm class production process by the end of the year. Although this news was not officially confirmed, it gained a place in the Chinese media. However, this step by China is extremely important as it wants to end the country’s foreign dependence in the semiconductor field.Lithography system attack from China
The SSA/800-10W scanner developed for SMEE is a breakthrough because the company’s most advanced scanner today can only be used in 90nm or higher production processes. The 28nm-capable lithography tool could over time enable Chinese chipmakers to rely on domestic manufacturing capacity for a range of mature technologies.
This move should be interpreted as part of China’s goal of achieving self-sufficiency in semiconductors and reducing its dependence on foreign technology. On the other hand, it is still unclear whether SMEE will be able to produce this scanner in mass quantities and when the scanner will be available to replace the machines of ASML, Canon and Nikon. But this is certain; SMEE is on track to become China’s ASMLCurrent US export restrictions prevent Chinese chipmakers from accessing the tools and technologies needed to create non-planar transistor logic chips below 14nm/16nm, 3D NAND chips with more than 127 active layers, and DRAMs smaller than 18nm. China’s access to advanced vehicles has been almost zero since the Netherlands, Japan and Taiwan were also included in the restrictions earlier this year.
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