Is the neck of a big Korean factory stuck? Korean companies fight back domineeringly
The U.S. pressured the Dutch company ASML to prevent EUV lithography from entering the continental European market, hurting the business of its allies, and now this is a fait accompli.
They didn't"Annihilation"South Korean companies, which have even given three companies – TSMC, Samsung and SK hynix – the opportunity to expand production in South Korea. But that's not all. Until now, EUV lithography technology is still in the patent protection stage.
TSMC's technology is not localized in China, but it is, which makes it easier for the company to meet U.S. demands to build factories in China to expand production capacity.
The situation is different for South Korean companies such as SK Hynix, whose plant in Wuxi, China, produces about 40% of their DARM products, most of which use advanced production technology. The U.S. ban on EUV lithography has put SK Hynix in a quandary.
Previously, SK Group had publicly stated that it would look for other markets to replace its production capacity. This means that SK hynix will most likely have to relocate its production base to South Korea or the United States and Europe due to equipment constraints. However, SK hynix stabbed itself in the back, declaring that it had no intention of giving up the Chinese market. So, the question arises: what about advanced production technology if it is not discontinued? After all, at the moment they are still in a state of breathlessness.
Curiously, the ban had little effect on SK Hynix.
They immediately resorted to another trick, which is to change the way 10nm process*** DARM chips are shipped. In short, some products are produced in domestic factories, and after the products are shipped back to China, they are shipped back to China with EUV lithography machines**, and finally shipped back to China. This is tantamount to sending a signal to the United States: if you don't want to import EUV lithography machines, then you don't need them, just bring the equipment back home and let the world know that it exists.
It should be said that SK hynix is indeed a very smart company to face"Crisis", which is able to quickly take a series of measures to reduce losses. Still, Americans don't have to"Pull down your face"。
I don't know if you remember the reason why Korean companies were excluded, but there are rumors that Korean semiconductor companies will be included"Big Four"。But at the same time, South Korean semiconductor companies did not take any action. This fact suggests that this is just a legend.
The former U.S. allowed the exemption because it couldn't allow the ** chain of the DARM to be breached. As we all know, companies such as Samsung and SK dominate DARM and control most of the world's wafer production capacity. If they fall out with Feng, many tablet companies in the United States will be affected.
What's more, the South Korean company did not violate the regulations, as it did not import EUV lithography machines from China, but bought them with its own money. It is understandable that the former United States wanted to impose a ban on EUV lithography machines on South Korea under the pretext of technological hegemony. The U.S. doesn't want more competitors, especially in South Korea's semiconductor industry.
This won't stop the development of EUV lithography, but it's a good thing that it exists. At least this shows that South Korean companies are not influenced by American technology"Threats"。What are your thoughts on this? Please comment, like and share here!