In Taiwan and mainland China, the question of whether the United States will sanction a Taiwanese chip engineer who led Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp ( SMIC ) to produce 7 nanometer chips for Huawei’s Mate60 Pro has grown in popularity.
Liang Mong-Song, managing director of SMIC and a previous engineer at TSMC and Samsung, is then hailed as an icon in the device industry in China, along with Huawei leader Ren Zhengfei and South Korean leader Zhang Rujing, following the sudden introduction of the Kirin 9000s computer inside Mate60 Pro on August 29.
Some Chinese media websites claimed Liang was likely being probed and may face sanctions after the US Commerce Department revealed on September 7 that it was gathering data on the Mate60 Pro’s purported 7nm device. The US is looking into Huawei’s fresh device, according to an article published on Monday by Japanese magazine Scoop Taiwan News. A TSMC thief might receive punishment.
Who oversaw SMIC’s 7nm chip production? Liang Mongsong, who had been charged by TSMC with leaking business strategies some time ago, was the target of numerous accusations, according to the content. People are curious to know if the US does sanction him.
How is it possible for the US to now concede battle? It’s difficult, Dale Jieh Wen-chieh, a former commander of Chinese foreign policy planning, told the media. The US will undoubtedly tighten its stance against Huawei. This day, it may concentrate on reducing SMIC.
According to Jieh, Liang perhaps be punished by the US in accordance with federal laws. ” He won’t be impacted if he does not attend the US. However, if he owns property in the US, they will be forfeited.
Julian Kuo, a previous Legislative Yuan part and well-known critic, said that Liang” must have already prepared for the possibility that one day he would be an enemy of the chip industry players in Taiwan and the US.”
According to Kuo,” Liang knows exactly what he is chasing after in this living.” In 2021, his quarterly salary was just US$ 1.53 million, which is a very low rating for him. He has been grooming young ability and donating his income to his academic fund since 2021.
Kuo expressed skepticism regarding Liang’s substantial property in the US. Additionally, he claimed that Liang received a 22.5 million rmb( US$ 3.1 million ) house from SMIC, freeing him from housing concerns. & nbsp,
According to him, mainland China refers to Liang as a hero even though Taiwan and the US view him negatively due to the U.S. – China technology conflict. & nbsp,
a good or bad guy? & nbsp,
Chinese internet users have circulated a picture this month praising Liang’s contributions to the semiconductor industry in China. & nbsp,
Liang may be subject to sanctions, according to an anchor in the picture, if the US Commerce Department finds proof that he personally broke US trade laws. The anchor claims that by approving Liang, the US does warn the rest of the world that anyone who disobeys its export restrictions will pay a price. & nbsp,
Liang will forfeit the money from his 500 patents, according to other observers, if he is sanctioned. Additionally, some unusual device engineers may start to be reluctant to work for Chinese device manufacturers.
Some commentators on the island claim it is absurd to censure Liang because US citizens, not Taiwanese, are only prohibited from working for Chinese chipmakers by US curbs. Additionally, they point out that Liang didn’t start working for SMIC until 2017, eight years after leaving TSMC. & nbsp,
Liang, who was born in Taipei in 1953, completed his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at National Cheng Kung University before continuing his education at the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his doctorate in 1988 under the direction of British electrical engineer David Hodges.
After that, he joined AMD and helped create the K6 and K7 key control devices. He went back to Taiwan in 1992 and joined TSMC. & nbsp,
Liang was listed as one of the” six knights” who assisted TSMC in creating a 130nm chip in 2000. He left TSMC in February 2009 after not receiving a campaign. After a two-year non-compete period ended, he joined Samsung and was paid an annual salary of$ 4 million US. & nbsp,
TSMC subsequently filed a lawsuit against him for disclosing Samsung business secrets. According to a TSMC-commissioned scientific report, Samsung’s 45, 32, and 28nm cards used technologies that were comparable to those used by the company. With an original yearly salary of US$ 200,000, Liang joined SMIC in 2017 after losing the complaint in 2015.
He announced his resignation in late 2020, but he eventually changed his mind after SMIC increased his pay to US$ 1.53 million and gave him a place to live. & nbsp,
upcoming operations
In an article released on Tuesday, device experts at Semianalysis.com claim that SMIC produced its 7nm cards using a procedure resembling TSMC’s in 2018. One could say that SMIC is at most only a few years behind Intel and Samsung despite restrictions, according to them, and that it is only” at worst simply slightly” behind TSMC.
They claim that because SMIC has a top-notch architecture pool that is hired locally and from Taiwan, the distance could prove to be even smaller. & nbsp,
In an article that was published on September 7, a journalist from Guangdong claims that Liang had” contributed to the modern advancements in the chip market in Taiwan, South Korea, and island China.” ” The two requirements for China to produce 5G chips are ASML’s printing and Liang.”
Liang, according to the author, has worked with SMIC for at least three years to develop the 7nm technology, but making the 5nM chips, which call for the use of extreme ultraviolet ( EUV ) lithography, will take much longer. & nbsp,
According to him, Chinese chipmakers will have to wait for the introduction of EUV lithography, which is currently being developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment ( SMEE ), because the Dutch government forbade the export of ASML’s LVL to China. & nbsp,
According to the company’s website, SSA600 / 20, the most advanced lithography used by SMEE, can produce 90nm chips. According to media reports, just one machine has been sold so far for use in research.
By the end of this year, SMEE hopes to have produced its first Detector lithography, which may produce 28nm cards, according to a report from China’s Securities Times on July 26. & nbsp,
In truth, Liang had previously stated in 2021 that China would have to accept the fact that EUV printing was required in order to produce 5nm cards. Finally, he declared that expecting the nation to suddenly close its technical gap with the West would be implausible.
Some commentators claim that any US restrictions on Liang didn’t force him to leave SMIC but will instead aid in his standing on the island. According to & nbsp, Liang’s upcoming missions are to assist SMIC in increasing the yield of 7nm chips made using DUV lithography and to pass on his expertise to more inexperienced engineers. & nbsp,
DUV yields for TSMC’s 14 and 7 nanometer chips range from 95 to 96 % and 80 %, respectively. Although it has never disclosed the yields of smaller chips, Semiconductor Manufacturing South China Corp( SMSC ), a SMIC subsidiary, has asserted that its 14nm chips produced 95 %.
According to Reuters, the yield rate for SMIC’s 7nm process is below 50 %, according to some experts.
Read: If Huawei revives 5G cards, produce and value are in question.
Read: The purity bubble of the Huawei phone is deflated by Asian chips.
At & nbsp, @ jeffpao3 is Jeff Pao’s Twitter account.