Huawei is reportedly moving forward with the designing and production of a new 3nm process node, with a little help from its other Chinese companies. A patent found online suggests that the telecommunications company, along with Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co (SMIC) suggests that they are looking forward to using a quadruple patterning lithography method (SAQP) for said process node.
As pointed out by Tom’s Hardware, SAQP is crucial technology for both Huawei and SMIC, simply because they lack access to cutting-edge lithography tools like ASML’s Twinscan NXT:2100i and NXE: 3400C/3600D/3800E. One reason why they lack access to such tools is due to increasing sanctions by the US government, which is actively trying to hinder the Chinese government’s AI and military ambitions.
Compared to those cutting-edge technologies, SAQP will definitely be more costly for Huawei and SMIC but as of right now, it is the only viable alternative, and vital for the Chinese government, especially if it wishes to continue advancing its own semiconductor technology.
(Source: Tom’s Hardware)
