Japan may lose the lithography machine industry, and foreign media say that the "evil consequences" of supply cut-off have appeared
China has the world's largest consumer market for integrated circuits, and neither the United States nor the United States can easily cede China's market. As China's wafer industry grows, the demand for semiconductor devices such as lithography and etching machines is also growing. According to relevant information, although EUV lithography machines cannot be imported, China has replaced the United States and jumped to occupy the second largest market for ASML.
However, in order to stop China's chip industry, the United States has imposed a strict blockade on China, and even reached a trilateral treaty with Japan and the Netherlands to strictly control it. In addition, Biden also intends to carry out after-sales sales of high-end lithography equipment that has been shipped, and regulate its after-sales service, which will have a significant impact on the entire world wafer market.
Now, Taiwan and South Korea are the main producers of chips, while Japan is dominated by the United States in these two industries, and the Netherlands is the only one in the world that can produce EUV lithography machines. It can be seen that the division of labor in the integrated circuit industry on a global scale is basically a foregone conclusion.
However, the blockade of TSMC by the United States, as well as the tri-country agreement, have undermined the balance of the global economy. How could Zhang Zhongmou say such a thing?In fact, all this is the blockade of the semiconductor industry by the United States, as well as the introduction of the tripartite agreement, which made the whole world lose confidence in the semiconductor industry.
Japan is currently the winner in the global semiconductor industry division of labor, and if the global industrial structure of the semiconductor industry is destroyed, Japan will inevitably be hit hard. More importantly, as the world's demand for chips is getting smaller and smaller, the revenue of Japanese companies such as Nikon, Canon, and Tokyo Electron has declined significantly, so developing the Chinese market is the best way to maintain revenue, profits and market share.
According to the data, Nikon and Canon have a share of 10 in lithography machines4% and 102%, while Nikon's lithography machine is more developed and can produce underwater lithography machines, while Canon's products are low-end. Nikon and Canon are in a difficult situation in the field of lithography, ASML is the only company in the world that can produce EUV lithography machines, while companies such as Nikon and Canon are in a very difficult situation.
But Nikon and Canon have been overtaken by Shanghai Microelectronics, which has the support of China, and if the technological level of the two companies can surpass Canon and Nikon, it will be the two largest companies in the world. Therefore, how to occupy the Chinese market and suppress the development of microelectronics in Shanghai has become a very important part of the Japanese lithography machine industry.
Just last year, the United States announced that ASML would carry out limited production of underwater DUV lithography machines, Nikon and Canon took the opportunity to enter China, and in a series of product bidding such as Jita in Shanghai, Nikon and Canon respectively obtained a large number of lithography machines, but ASML ultimately failed.
Nikon and Canon will occupy a large part of China's lithography field. But to everyone's surprise, it is not only ASML that is affected, but also Nikon, Canon and other companies, ASML only allows the production of chips above 38nm, and Nikon, Canon and other companies can only produce chips above 45nm.
It can be said that there is an arm tied on the ASML side, and Nikon's hands and feet are tied on the Canon side. This can be seen from the chip bidding of Chinese companies, where ASML got 6 lithography machines, while Canon and Nikon got nothing. This marks the end of Nikon's and Canon's business in China.
As can be seen from the financial report, Nikon's profit was only 39.9 billion yen, down 78 percent from the same period last year6%, only six lithography equipment were sold, down 60% from the same period last year. Japan's Canon, Tokyo Electron, and a number of other semiconductor device makers have all reported declining revenues and earnings.
In this regard, foreign journalists speculate that Japan may lose the lithography machine industry because of this incident. Taking lithography machines as an example, the entire semiconductor device industry is only available in China, and the rest is inventory, that is to say, if you use up a set of lithography machines, you have to purchase a new set, and you will not purchase more lithography machines. China is a new market, and many semiconductor companies in China are expanding their production capacity, which means that Chinese lithography machines and other equipment will be purchased on a large scale.
However, China's Shanghai Microelectronics Company announced that a breakthrough has been made in the process of a 28-nanometer lithography machine, and according to Xinhua News Agency, Shanghai Microelectronics is expected to ship it within the year. Chinese companies will buy lithography machines from Shanghai Semiconductor, and they will also buy from ASML, because ASML has a much higher position in China than the United States, and the lithography machines it can produce are also higher than ASML.
It can be said that Canon and Nikon do not have any advantages in terms of shipments and technology, and they may gradually lose their market share after shipments in China are restricted. It is not surprising why some foreign newspapers say that Japan is going to lose the lithography industry.