China has been in the spotlight lately with its breakthroughs in semiconductors. Following the buzz that SMIC is said to produce 5nm chips for Huawei this year, Xiaomi is rumored to have taped out its first 3nm SoC. China’s efforts can also been seen by the surge of semiconductor patent applications, with the country’s filing in 2023-24 soaring by 42%, according to a report by The Register.

Citing the data from IP firm Mathys & Squire, the report notes that there is a 22% global increase in semiconductor patent applications, rising from 66,416 in 2022-23 to 80,892 in 2023-24.

It is worth noting that China’s semiconductor sector is rapidly advancing in response to U.S. export controls, while its semiconductor patent applications during 2023-24 showed the strongest growth among all regions, rising from 32,840 to 46,591 with a 42% year-over-year increase, according to The Register.

However, China’s surge in patent applications is not solely influenced by geopolitical factors. AI accelerators and high-performance chips have become highly sought after amid the AI boom, leading chipmakers around the world, including those in China, to rush to file patents for the next breakthrough in AI hardware, the report states.

An expert from Mathys & Squire cited by the report states that as the U.S.-China chip war intensifies, export restrictions are prompting China to increase its investment in domestic semiconductor research and development, and this is now evident in their rising patent applications.

On the other hand, the U.S. is also making great strides in semiconductors. The data from IP firm Mathys & Squire reveals that the hometown of chip giants Intel, Qualcomm and NVIDIA experienced a 9 percent increase in patent filings, reaching 21,269 in 2023-24.

With government policies channeling funds into domestic chip production—TSMC’s Arizona plant being a notable example—the U.S. is eager to strengthen its supply chain while intensifying its research and development initiatives, which is in line with the trend, the report suggests.

Nevertheless, China is still years behind the most cutting-edge chip technologies, the report points out. For instance, the report notes that the CPU released by Chinese chip firm Loongson last week, 3B6600, though claiming to rival 7nm x86 processors, would be similar to match the performance of AMD and Intel’s products from five years ago.

Read more

• [News] Xiaomi Rumored to Have Taped out its First 3nm Chipset, Which Might be Launched Next Year
• [News] SMIC Reportedly to Manufacture 5nm Chips for Huawei Without EUV Machinery

Recently, TSMC updated the progress of the expansion of its sub-2nm advanced process. On September 11, Hsu Mao-hsin, Director-General of Taiwan’s Central Taiwan Science Park Administration, announced the expansion of the Taichung Phase 2 park.

Currently, 95% of the land required for TSMC’s plant construction has been secured through agreed purchase prices. The full transaction is expected to be completed by the end of this year, with the land ready for TSMC by the first quarter of next year.

The Phase 2 park covers 89 hectares, of which the Hsingnong Golf Course occupies 67 hectares, representing about 76.8% of the total area and making it the largest landholder. The budget for land acquisition is approximately TWD 23.7 billion.

Currently, there are 111 landowners and structures in the park, with 70% of the owners agreeing to the acquisition, covering 95% of the total area.

In addition to supporting TSMC’s new plant, the rest of around 3 hectares are available for related industries to apply for residency. Several companies in semiconductor supply chain and precision machinery industry have already expressed interest in moving in, and the Central Taiwan Science Park Administration is encouraging IC design companies to join.

Presently, TSMC has concentrated most of its advanced process manufacturing facilities in Taiwan. Aside from three 2nm wafer fabs in its Kaohsiung Nanzi Park, there is also space available to accommodate sub-2nm technology fabs. Industry insiders revealed that Kaohsiung is already preparing for the deployment of the A14 (14 angstrom) process. The first 2nm fab in Nanzi is expected to start mass production in 2025.

Although 2nm product is still absent from the market, their output value is expected to surpass that of 3nm. Insiders indicated that future applications will include HPC (high-performance computing) and smartphone technology sectors.

Read more

• [News] Google’s Tensor G5 Reportedly Manufactured with TSMC’s 3nm and InFO-POP Packaging
• [News] TSMC Strengthens Its Advanced Process with Next-Generation EUV Equipment Reportedly Arriving This Month

(Photo credit: TSMC)

In recent years, the U.S., Japan and the Netherlands, have increasingly expanding restrictions on China in semiconductor technology. South Korea, on the other hand, has been cautiously responding to U.S. demands due to its significant dependence on the Chinese market.

Yet, according to a report by South Korean media outlet The Korea Herald, the U.S. is increasing pressure on South Korea to comply with its export controls to China.

At the Korea-U.S. Economic Security Conference 2024 held in Washington, D.C. on September 10th, U.S. Commerce Department Undersecretary Alan Estevez called on South Korea’s two leading HBM manufacturers, Samsung and SK hynix, to align with U.S. export controls on China. He urged that their production capacity be reserved for supplying advanced chips to allied nations, rather than competitors such as China.

Estevez emphasized his appreciation for South Korea’s long-standing cooperation with the U.S., but pointed out that since AI can be used for military purposes, it is crucial to prevent China from acquiring advanced chips to train AI models.

South Korea’s Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo responded that while they will discuss the matter with the U.S., export controls have a significant impact on South Korea’s businesses and economy.

Some industry sources cited by The Korea Herald have further pointed out that the direct export volume of chips from Samsung and SK hynix to China is not significant, so the actual impact may be limited.

However, per a previous Reuters report cited sources, it’s indicated that about 30% of Samsung’s HBM chip sales in the first half of this year were to China.

The Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade noted that, unlike Japan and the Netherlands, South Korea cannot fully align with U.S. export control measures due to its significant reliance on exports to China.

Per the Chosun Daily citing data from South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy and the Korea International Trade Association, it’s shown that in July of this year, South Korea’s exports to China increased by 14.9% year-on-year to USD 11.4 billion, the highest since October 2022. Notably, memory exports surged 89% year-on-year to USD 6.8 billion.

Semiconductor exports saw particularly strong growth, with chip exports rising 49% year-on-year. In June this year, Korea’s memory exports also amounted to USD 8.8 billion, accounting for 65.8% of total semiconductor exports, which reportedly represents the highest proportion in two years since December 2021.

These figures reflect South Korea’s robust performance in the chip sector and the strong demand from the Chinese market for Korean semiconductors and other ICT products.

Meanwhile, due to the U.S.’s strict restrictions on chip manufacturing technology, China is striving for breakthroughs in the HBM field.

The HBM market is currently dominated by South Korea’s SK hynix, Samsung Electronics, and the U.S.’s Micron, all of which are producing the latest standard HBM3 chips.

However, a report from Tom’s Hardware, citing industry sources, has indicated that Chinese companies, including CXMT, have made progress in developing HBM and are in the early stages of production. Huawei is also collaborating with other Chinese companies, with plans to produce HBM2 chips by 2026.

Read more

• [News] ChangXin Memory Technologies in China Has Reportedly Begun Mass Production of HBM2
• [News] Progress Made in Chinese Consortium’s Development of HBM, Reportedly Targeting HBM2 Production by 2026

(Photo credit: Samsung)

At its 2024 semi-annual results briefing, Loongson Zhongke Technology announced that the 3B6600 processor is expected to begin sampling in the first half of next year and be officially released in the second half.

Per a report from IThome, Chairman and General Manager Hu Weiwu emphasized that this iteration involves significant structural changes, with anticipated single-core performance ranking among the “world-leading” levels.

Hu previously revealed that the 3B6600, an eight-core desktop CPU currently in development, utilizes a mature process and is expected to achieve mid-to-high-end performance levels comparable to Intel’s 12th to 13th generation Core-i CPUs.

Regarding product cycles, he mentioned that Loongson aims to release at least one server or PC chip each year.

Per Loongson’s previous roadmap, the next-generation 3B6600 processor will feature eight LA864 cores with a clock frequency of 3.0 GHz and include the LG200 integrated graphics card.

Additionally, a faster 3B7000 variant, currently in development, is expected to reach a frequency of up to 3.5 GHz and offer a comprehensive range of I/O interfaces, including PCIe4, SATA3, USB3, GMAC, and HDMI.

Last year, Loongson introduced the desktop CPU Loongson 3A6000, which officially matched the performance of Intel’s 10th-generation Core i4 processor released in 2020.

This year, Loongson successfully developed the 16-core and 32-core versions of the Loongson 3C6000 and 3D6000 server CPUs, which are officially claimed to perform at levels comparable to Intel’s Xeon 4314 and 6338.

As per another report from the global media outlet tom’s Hardware, the rumored new 7nm process may have achieved faster clock frequencies, increased core counts, and other improvements. However, it is still awaiting the release of the latest products.

Read more

• [News] Rising Chinese GPU Contender Emerges? Achieving Local GPU Production in Three Years, Claims “Outperforming AMD”

(Photo credit: Loongson Zhongke Technology)

ACM Research, Inc., a provider of wafer processing solutions for semiconductor and advanced wafer-level packaging applications in China, announced on September 3rd the release of its Ultra C bev-p panel bevel etching tool for fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP) applications.

This new tool is designed for bevel etching and cleaning in copper-related processes, offering dual-side bevel etching for both the front and back of panels within a single system, further boosting process efficiency and enhances product reliability.

Moreover, a day after the announcement, the company further revealed that it had received purchase orders for four wafer-level packaging tools, including two from a U.S.-based customer and two from a U.S.-based research and development (R&D) center.

Dr. David Wang, ACM’s president and chief executive officer, believes that FOPLP will grow in importance as it addresses the evolving needs of modern electronic applications, offering benefits in integration density, cost efficiency, and design flexibility.

Reportedly, the new Ultra C bev-p tool is designed to deliver advanced performance, utilizing ACM’s expertise in wet processing. It is one of the first tools to incorporate double-sided bevel etching for horizontal panel applications.

Together with the Ultra ECP ap-p for electrochemical plating and the Ultra C vac-p flux cleaning tools, the Ultra C bev-p is expected to support the FOPLP market by enabling advanced packaging on large panels with high-precision features.

ACM emphasizes that the Ultra C bev-p tool is a critical enabler for FOPLP processes, employing a wet etching technique tailored for bevel etching and copper residue removal.

This process plays a vital role in preventing electrical shorts, reducing contamination risks, and preserving the integrity of subsequent processing steps, ensuring long-term device reliability. The tool’s effectiveness is driven by ACM’s patented technology, designed to tackle the specific challenges of square panel substrates.

Different from traditional round wafers, ACM’s design is said to ensure precise bevel removal process that stays confined to the bevel region, even on warped panels. This is essential for maintaining the integrity of the etching process while ensuring the high performance and reliability needed for advanced semiconductor technologies.

Currently, major players in the FOPLP advanced packaging field include Powertech Technology, ASE Group, SPIL, TSMC, Innolux, JSnepes, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics.

TrendForce points out that FOPLP technology presents advantages and disadvantages. Its main strengths are lower unit cost and larger package size, but as its technology and equipment systems are still developing, the commercialization process is highly uncertain.

It is estimated that the mass production timeline for FOPLP in consumer IC and AI GPU may fall between the second half of 2024 to 2026, and 2027-2028, respectively.

Read more

• [News] ACM Research Steps into FOPLP Advanced Packaging Field
• [News] TSMC Reportedly Forms a Team on FOPLP Development, with Mini Line on the Road 

(Photo credit: ACMR)