Chip manufacturing technology has always been one of the focuses of the technology field, and in recent years, the world's top wafer fabs such as TSMC, Samsung and Intel have launched chip manufacturing processes with 2nm process, which has attracted widespread attention. However, there are claims that our chip-making technology is too far behind to even qualify for war. In fact, compared with these 2nm chips, our chip manufacturing technology is only 2 generations behind, only 5 years behind. This article will elaborate on this in detail to help readers better understand the actual situation of China's chip manufacturing technology.
At present, the world's top chip manufacturing process level is 3nm, and the only manufacturers that have mastered this technology are TSMC and Samsung. The two companies started mass production of 3nm chips last year, and this year Apple's A17Pro became the first mobile phone equipped with 3nm chips. In contrast, what is the level of chip manufacturing in China?Although Huawei did not disclose the nanometer number of the Kirin 9000S chip, according to the scanning analysis of the scientific and technological institutions, its transistor density has reached the level of TSMC's N7 process and is comparable to the Snapdragon 888 chip in performance. Therefore, we can assume that the process of the Kirin 9000s chip should be around 7nm.
It is worth noting that TSMC's first mass production of 7nm chips was in 2018, when Apple's A12 and Huawei's Kirin 980 were based on this process. From 2018 to 2023, in just 5 years, we have iterated from 7nm to 3nm, with only a 5nm generation in between. Therefore, strictly speaking, the gap between us and the world's top level in chip manufacturing technology is not far away, only 2 generations, only 5 years behind.
While the 2nm process may seem advanced, it is clear that the 7nm process is already sufficient to meet more than 95% of the world's chip manufacturing needs. At present, only a few chips, such as mobile phone chips and AI chips, will use 5nm or 3nm processes, and such chips only account for less than 5% of the total number of chips. In other words, 95% of the chips are completely sufficient under the 7nm process. Therefore, our chip manufacturing technology is already catching up, and there is no need to panic too much.
When it comes to domestic chips, many people will feel that our technology has lagged behind for a long time. But this is not the case, we are only a slight gap with the world's top chip manufacturing process level, only 2 generations, about 5 years. This is enough to show that our chip manufacturing technology has been at the forefront of the times. We have a lot of proud achievements, such as the Kirin 9000S chip's transistor density reaching the level of TSMC's N7 process, while at the same time not inferior to the Snapdragon 888 chip in terms of performance. This fully demonstrates the strength and potential of domestic chip manufacturing technology.
For the development of China's chip manufacturing technology, we should be full of confidence. Although we still have a lot to improve and learn in the face of competition from top fabs, we have made considerable progress on the road to catching up. The development of chip manufacturing technology is a long-term and complex process that requires continuous investment and effort, and this is exactly what we have been doing. It is believed that with the passage of time, China's chip manufacturing technology will definitely catch up with or even lead the world and become an important force in the world's chip manufacturing industry.
Although TSMC, Samsung and other top wafer fabs have launched the 2nm chip manufacturing process, compared with this, our chip manufacturing technology is only 2 generations apart, about 5 years. At present, more than 95% of the world's chip manufacturing needs can be met by the 7nm process, and only a few chips use the 5nm and 3nm processes. Therefore, our chip manufacturing technology is not too far behind.
We should be confident in our country's chip manufacturing technology. While we still have a gap to fill compared to the top fabs, we have already achieved impressive results in terms of transistor density and performance. Looking forward to the future, we should continue to increase our efforts and invest more resources and energy to promote the innovation and development of China's chip manufacturing technology. With the passage of time, we have reason to believe that China's chip manufacturing technology will catch up with and surpass the world's top level and become the backbone of the world's chip manufacturing industry.