China to phase in 14nm semiconductor process in 2018, s…

China is proceeding with systematic deployments in 14nm semiconductor fabrication equipment, process, packaging and materials, which will be fully industrialized in 2018. And the nation will render major support to the development of 5-7nm procesess and 3D memories under its 13th Five-year Development Plan running 2016-2020, according to Ye Tianchun, director of the Institute of Microelectronics under the Chinese Academy of Science.

Customs statistics showed that China imported US$227 billion worth of IC products in 2016, twice its crude oil imports for the year, but the nation’s IC exports reached only US$61.4 billion. The huge trade deficit was due mainly to China’s lack of high-end chip products for exports, Ye said.

Ye said that IC technologies are the most crucial cornerstone of the information technology era, and the “grain” of modern industries, as ICs are now totally indispensable to computers, smartphones, home appliances, automobiles, high-speed rail system, electrical grid, medical instrument, robots and industrial control, among others.

Also serving as China’s National Science and Technology Major Master, Ye stressed that the nation’s IC industrial chains are expected to reach advanced international levels by 2030, when a certain semiconductor firms will be able to emerge as top players in the world. Inspired by more policy support from the government, he added, China’s semiconductor firms are expected to spend more on the development of advanced processes in the coming years.

US ‘Section 301’ investigation may target semiconductor

The US has recently launched a “Section 301” investigation to determine whether China’s intellectual property policies and practices are unreasonable or discriminatory. It is widely speculated that the US will list semiconductor among high-tech sectors subject to investigations in a bid to dampen the rise of China’s semiconductor industry.

In response, Ye said that over the years, advanced countries in the West have rigidly blocked key IC technologies from flowing into China, and the best way to counter is for China makers to pursue technology innovations and breakthroughs on their own.

As early as 2000, the central governmemnt issued a set of policy guidelines for the development of the IC industry, and in 2008 it listed core electronics components, high-end chips and basic software products, as well as very-large-scale integration IC fabrication equipment as key technology development projects for implementation. In 2014, the government set up National IC Industry Investment Fund (Big Find), at a scale of CNY120 billion(US$18.03 billion), all highlighting China’s determination to develop the semiconductor industry on its own, according to Ye.

He stressed that following years of concerted efforts by the government and enterprises, China’s semiconductor industry is showing increasingly strong technology and production prowess, given the fact massive amount of chips designed and manufactured by domestic companies have been adopted by China’s leading vendors of smartphones, communication equipment and smart cards.

Categories: Bits + chips IC design, distribution IC manufacturing Memory chips

Tags: 14nm 2018 3D China IC semiconductor

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