According to a new report, Huawei subsidiary, HiSilicon, has placed an order from SMIC’s (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation) new 14nm process, and has received orders from TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) as well.
The former started the research and development regarding 14nm processes back in 2015 and has begun mass producing 14nm FinFETs successfully since the third quarter of 2019. Thus, it also makes the SMIC factory the most advanced integrated production base in Mainland China.
On the other hand, TSMC is an established industry supplier with a bulk of its operations concentrated in the Nanjing plant that was put into operation at the end of 2018. It has an investment in 3 billion US Dollars that enables it to produce 20,000 12 inch wafer fabs on a monthly basis. In simpler terms, the plant is able to consistently manufacture a large number of smartphone based circuitry.
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Previously, HiSilicon’s primary orders for 16nm and 14nm were mainly taken up by TSMC. Now, Huawei subsidiary brand is placing orders to the newer SMIC for the same technology. For those unaware, HiSilicon develops the Chinese smartphone manufacturer’s proprietary Kirin smartphone chipsets.
A known project taken up by SMIC in regards to smartphones was for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 400 series SoC (system on chip). Unfortunately, it is currently unclear as to which device the 14nm SMIC will be made for, but Huawei smartphones (or even tablets) might be the obvious choice here.
Notably, TSMC is facing certain issues since the US Government has plans to lower the standard of “Derived from US technology” from 25 percent to 10 percent. This move will create a barrier to TSMC’s supply to companies not based in the US, affecting market trends and orders for 16nm processes.
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(Via)
