The Kirin 9000S, manufactured by SMIC using its 7nm process, sent shockwaves to the semiconductor industry, signaling that China was ready to even the playing field with the U.S. and reduce the technological gap between the two nations. It was later reported last year that SMIC had successfully developed its 5nm node, but surprisingly, the most advanced SoC from Huawei had been retained on the older-generation 7nm lithography. Fortunately, that might not be the case any longer, assuming a tipster’s claims are true, because China’s largest semiconductor manufacturer’s 5nm yields are in the 60-70 percent range, but not everyone believes these figures.
Latest rumor states that the SMIC’s 5nm yields are in the same range as Samsung’s 3nm GAA technology
The news was broken by Weibo tipster Fixed Focus Digital, who mentioned the aforementioned yields, hinting that China could finally move to a new stage of wafer manufacturing. He also claims that these yields are around the same range as Samsung’s 3nm GAA process, which was used for the Exynos 2500 powering the Galaxy Z Flip 7. Unfortunately, not everyone is thrilled to hear these claims, with some outright refuting them.
For instance, @Jukanlosreve spoke with his undisclosed source in China on X, and based on his post, Fixed Focus Digital is making up this rumor. Keep in mind that @Jukanlosreve had previously shared that SMIC plans to complete 5nm chip development by 2025, but the costs are estimated to be 50 percent higher due to the use of older DUV equipment instead of the newer EUV machinery, which is mandatory to efficiently mass manufacture wafers on the 5nm process and below.
Based on SMIC’s new 5nm completion timeline, it is unsurprising that @Jukanlosreve would disagree with the latest rumor. Also, Huawei’s X90, which is found in its HarmonyOS-powered notebooks, utilizes SMIC’s 7nm process. Given that a 70 percent yield is commercially and financially viable for mass production, we will have to treat Fixed Focus Digital’s claims with a truckload of salt because SMIC has yet to produce anything noteworthy with this alleged progress.
Fortunately, China has been reported to be testing out its in-house EUV machines, with trial production expected to kick off in the third quarter of 2025. SiCarrier, a company with close ties with Huawei, has raised funding by securing $2.8 billion as it aims to compete with ASML in bringing locally manufactured EUV machines to customers. Even if SMIC is resource-starved in producing its own 5nm version, it can rely on third-party equipment to produce even more cutting-edge wafers, assuming the other companies succeed.
News Source: Fixed Focus Digital
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