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SMIC has been a key manufacturer for Huawei‘s Kirin chips such as the Kirin 9000S and 9010. Both these SoCs are manufactured on a 7nm process while the foundry is said to be developing its own 5nm chip production process. 

New reports from Business Korea and Hankyung now suggests that SMIC has successfully achieved this milestone. That means, their 5nm process is now ready for chip manufacturing. 

That’s an incredible feat, especially given the infrastructure challenges SMIC has encountered due to US export restrictions. But the reports suggest that the SMIC’s new 5nm node relies on older Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) lithography instead of the more advanced Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) technology. 

DUV lithography uses deep ultraviolet light with a wavelength of around 193nm to etch circuit patterns onto silicon wafers. 

EUV lithography, on the other hand, uses much shorter extreme ultraviolet light (around 13.5nm). This shorter wavelength allows for the creation of finer features, enabling the production of more powerful and efficient chips. As a result, EUV is considered essential for achieving the most advanced chip designs.

The reason behind SMIC’s inability to adopt EUV technology lies in the ongoing tensions between the US and China. ASML, a key supplier of EUV lithography machines, is restricted by US export rules from supplying its technology to Chinese foundries like SMIC. Consequently, SMIC has to rely on DUV lithography for its 5nm node.

Despite yield concerns, Huawei is likely to use processors manufactured using SMIC’s new 5nm node on its upcoming Mate 70 series.

Additionally, there’s a rumor of a new Huawei laptop with a Kirin chip for PCs that is said to rival Apple’s M2 in terms of performance. Whether these rumors hold weight remains to be seen.

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(Via: Business Korea, Hankyung)

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