China’s dependency on the older DUV equipment that is currently in use by the state’s largest semiconductor firm, SMIC, will mean that the region will always be fighting a losing battle against the U.S., which has access to ASML’s bleeding-edge EUV machinery. As long as the export ban remains in place, there is no possible way for China to get a hold of this advanced equipment, meaning that the only way to compete with its biggest rival is to develop in-house chip-making tools. As it happens, a new report talks about SiCarrier, a firm closely linked with Huawei, is working diligently to ensure that ASML is no longer a dependent source of EUV machines.
The development of advanced machines from SiCarrier is getting some much-needed support from the Chinese government
With the help of Huawei, a previous report stated that custom EUV prototypes focused on laser-induced discharge plasma (LDP) will enter trial production in the third quarter of 2025. Nikkei does not report if this hardware is the same one being tested by SiCarrier, but the latest information states that the company is developing not one but a wide range of machines to replace ASML while reducing the grip of foreign rivals to help China climb out of the rabbit hole and start producing in-house wafers.
The report states that SiCarrier has received backing from the Shenzhen government, which will help catalyze its operations. According to sources familiar with the matter, the equipment is currently focused on chip fabrication, with firms like ASML, Applied Materials, and Lam Research serving as its benchmark. Other hardware involved in lithography, chemical vapor deposition, measurement, physical vapor deposition, etching, and atomic layer deposition are also being worked on.
Bear in mind that all of these categories are dominated by companies from the Netherlands, the U.S., and Japan, with SiCarrier aiming to bridge the technological gap by working closely with Huawei and its growing team of experts in chip production and chip-making equipment. The report does not mention when the first prototype will enter production, but at this time, the most advanced lithography that China has ever come up with is the 5nm technology that was developed by SMIC.
Unfortunately, the company has yet to mass produce wafers on this manufacturing process at a larger scale since the DUV equipment it currently employs takes up too much time and churns out a higher volume of defected wafers, which only adds to the mounting costs. With the efforts from SiCarrier, Huawei and the Chinese government, perhaps it will not take long before the region finally advances in chip manufacturing.
News Source: Nikkei Asia
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