Shanghai achieved mass production of 14 nm semiconductors, said local official
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Shanghai achieved mass production of 14 nm semiconductors, said local official
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Shanghai achieved mass production of 14 nm semiconductors, said local official

 

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Authorities in the city of Shanghai said that 14-nanometer chips are now being mass produced in the city. Shanghai-based companies have achieved mass production of semiconductors with 14-nm process and made breakthroughs in 90-nm lithography machines, 5-nm etching machines, 12-inch large silicon wafers, central processing units and 5G chips, Wu Jincheng, director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Digitalization, said at a press conference on Wednesday.

It marks the first official recognition of the ability of Chinese companies to mass produce 14-nm chips, said Xiang Ligang, an independent technology analyst. While 10-nm has often been taken as a benchmark for advanced processes, for China, mature processes above 14-nm can meet the majority of Chinese market demands, Xiang said.

Demand for 14-nm process in the industry is represented by new-energy vehicles, said Chen Jia, an independent research fellow.

The large-scale production of 14-nm chips in Shanghai will greatly help the development of such sectors as new-energy cars, smart cities, intelligent manufacturing and the Internet of Things, which will help China consolidate its advantage as the world’s top manufacturing factory, Chen said.

Shanghai is the backbone of China’s semiconductors sector, with a market size of 250 billion yuan ($35.91 billion) in 2021, accounting for 25% of the country’s total, according to official data. At the start this year, the Shanghai municipal government announced a set of new policies to bolster China’s advanced chip-making capacity.

The development comes as the Biden administration reportedly plans to broaden curbs on US shipments to China of semiconductors used for artificial intelligence and chip-making tools.

The US Commerce Department has sent letters to companies including KLA Corp, Lam Research Corp and Applied Materials Inc, forbidding them from exporting chip-making equipment to Chinese factories that produce advanced semiconductors with sub-14-nm processes unless the sellers obtain Commerce Department licenses, according to Reuters.