The pitfalls of relying on older DUV equipment for companies like Huawei are that it is exceptionally difficult to commence mass production of chipsets on the 5nm lithography and below without running into a bevy of challenges. With SMIC and the former Chinese giant now placed on Taiwan’s export control list, importing newer equipment without a valid license just got a whole lot difficult. Huawei has so far managed to rely on its local supply chain, with its Kirin X90, the company’s newest SoC, found in the MateBook Fold, but it has been found that the chipset continues to rely on SMIC’s older 7nm node instead of the newer 5nm one.
Commercialization of 5nm chipsets is not happening this year, suggesting that Huawei and SMIC will be stuck on the 7nm technology for another generation
While Huawei has been able to fight through the U.S. export control list, the technological gap between it and its competitors will continue to widen if its semiconductor partner SMIC cannot get a hold of the new EUV machinery and continues relying on the current-generation DUV equipment. According to TechInsights, rumors were doing their rounds, claiming that the Kirin X90 was mass produced on the 5nm (N + 3) process, but it is fabricated on the older 7nm (N + 2), just like the Kirin 9020.
The only advancement made by Huawei is transitioning from the older ‘N + 1’ architecture, bringing in some performance and efficiency benefits, but not as drastic as it would be if the company introduces its first 5nm SoC. With 2nm chipsets arriving in the next 1-2 years, TechInsights reports that China will start trailing the rest of the world by at least three generations.
“If Huawei is stuck on a 7nm equivalent SoC, it is multiple generations behind the likes of Apple (M3 and M4 series), AMD (Ryzen 8040 series), and Qualcomm (Snapdragon X Elite series). TSMC, Samsung, Intel, and Rapidus will all make 2nm processes available to customers in the next 12 to 24 months, widening the gap between China’s process technology and the rest of the world by at least three technology generations.”
In addition to being barred from purchasing next-generation EUV equipment, Huawei and other Chinese firms cannot acquire any EDA tools that are necessary for chipset development. Thankfully, the company foresaw this complication, which is why Huawei has reportedly developed 14nm EDA tools to mass produce 7nm silicon.
Unfortunately, moving to 5nm technology continues to remain a distant reality, though a rumor claims that commercialization is underway. However, we doubt we will witness the first launch this year.
News Source: TechInsights
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
