China’s leading chipmaker, SMIC, has reportedly made strides in developing 5nm technology using older DUV equipment. While this is a significant achievement considering US sanctions limiting access to advanced EUV machines,numerous challenges remain.
Initial tests indicate improved power efficiency for the 5nm process, but it’s unclear if this technology will be ready for HUAWEI’s next Kirin chipset. The upcoming Mate 70 series is expected to feature a new Kirin chip, likely built on SMIC’s enhanced 7nm process (N+3) due to the complexities and costs associated with early 5nm production.
SMIC’s 7nm chips, currently powering Huawei’s Kirin 9000S and 9010, lag behind competitors like Google’s Tensor G3 in performance and efficiency. The company hopes to close this gap with the N+3 iteration.
Producing 5nm chips on DUV equipment is costly and yields lower chip output compared to using EUV machines. This economic hurdle, coupled with the technological challenges, makes mass production of 5nm chips a distant goal for SMIC.
While the company continues to invest in 5nm research, the immediate focus appears to be on refining the 7nm process to deliver more competitive chips for HUAWEI and other customers.