The United States is making more aggressive efforts to stop China from obtaining high-speed memory ( HBM ) chips and gate-all-around ( GAA ) transistors.  ,
According to media reports, ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc. ( CXMT ), a key target of Washington’s potential curb, will be one of its key targets. CXMT produces DRAM for use in computer servers and smart cars. CXMT’s big companies include Samsung Electronics, Stat project and Micron.  ,
According to a report released on Tuesday, Alan Estevez, the head of the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security ( BIS), visited the Netherlands to discuss adding 11 more Chinese chip factories to a restricted list. Estevez therefore traveled to Japan to speak with him about the same issue.
According to a report released on Wednesday, Estevez’s goal is to pressure the governments of Japan and the Netherlands to impose stricter restrictions on Tokyo Electron Ltd. and ASML’s supplies to China. It said Estevez’s ongoing dialogue with allies will highlight Chinese chip factories development of so- called high- bandwidth memory ( HBM ) chips, which can be used as artificial intelligence ( AI ) accelerators.  ,  ,
According to a Reuters report last month, Yangtze Memory Technologies Co ( YMTC ) and CXMT, a subsidiary of the flash memory chip manufacturer, are currently pursuing HBM chips and are looking to source tools from South Korea and Japan.  ,
It stated that CXMT has developed test HBM chips in collaboration with Tongfu Microelectronics, a provider of device presentation and testing, and has presented them to clients. In February, XMC began constructing a shop that you create 3, 000 12- foot HBM chips per month.
Currently, five Chinese chip makers, including Huawei Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp ( SMIC ) and YMTC, have been added to the US Entity List.
In March of this year, Bloomberg reported that Washington might blacklist five additional Chinese device manufacturers in addition to CXMT.
GAAFET tech
After making claims that CXMT had made progress in the development of GAA device systems, BIS was interested in CXMT in December.  ,
CXMT presented a paper at the 69th IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting ( IEDM) in San Francisco to present a GAA technology that is applicable to cutting-edge 3nm chips.  ,
According to an article from the South China Morning Post, the GAA chips made by CXMT may have been created with technology that is subject to US trade restrictions. However, CXMT claimed that the study is unrelated to the company’s latest manufacturing processes. Any claim that CXMT is violating US export settings is totally false, it added.  ,
Prior to the 28nm process node, semiconductors were made of planar transistors ( MOSFETs ), which were subject to current-leak and heat-dissipation issues.  ,
In 2011, Intel introduced fin field- effect transistors ( FinFETs ), which have a vertical “fin” added to each of their gates, to resolve the current leakage issue. However, the issue arises once more when bits are shrinking.
This is why the GAAFET tech, which turns the “fin” into nanowire or nanosheet, was developed. The technology can help improve semiconductors’ performance and reduce their power consumption. It can also be applied to 5nm, 7nm and 14nm chips.
Samsung began the mass production of its GAA-based 3nm cards in June 2022. The BIS announced in August 2022 a new law to ban the export of American electronic design automation ( EDA ) software, which can be used to design GAA chips, to China. It’s questionable how CXMT underwent its GAA studies.  ,
Possible curb ,
According to a report from Bloomberg on June 11, the Biden administration is considering putting in new restrictions on China’s access to GAA technologies.  ,
” When it comes to AI, the US says it wants to own speech with China, while mulling ways to go after China’s Artificial business”, Lin Jian, a director of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on June 12. ” This says everything about US hypocrisy”.
Lin added that the US activity may encourage Chinese firms to do quality by relying on themselves rather than slow China’s technological advancement.  ,
Director-general of the Beijing-based Information Consumption Alliance Xiang Ligang claimed for the Global Times that US sanctions had failed to slow China’s progress but had instead encouraged China to do self-reliance across the whole chip industry chain.  ,
He claimed that the United States ‘ long-term plan to restrict China’s ability to make chips was foolish and finally pointless.
Some Chinese columnists worry, nevertheless, that China’s chip-design skills will suffer in the long run as a result of the GAA systems trade ban.
In an article published on June 15, a writer who uses the pencil name” Uncle Biao” claims that a group led by Zhu Huilong of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has made significant progress in the development of “vertical hamburger GAAFET” in recent years.  ,
He claims that Chinese fabless device makers may encounter more difficulties in developing 3nm chips in the future if US tightens the import controls for its GAA technology. He advises Chinese device producers to never underestimate the negative effects of this possible restraint on them.
Read: China downgrades AI cards to safe TSMC production ,
Observe Jeff Pao on X at , @jeffpao3