InHuaweiAfter coming out on top, the United States began to comprehensively restrict China's semiconductor industry. In addition to asking U.S. companies to stop Chinese companies, they also forced their allies to jointly suppress and sanction China. Among them, the most notorious is "the United States, Japan and the Netherlands."Tripartite agreement
At the end of 2022, it was rumored that the United States, Japan and the Netherlands had reached an agreementLithography machineequipment restriction agreements, however, these three countries have been reluctant to admit it. It wasn't until March 2023 that the exact news came out. Subsequently, Japan announced that it would implement the shipment of 23 core-making equipment on July 23. This has led directly to the expansion of the range of restrictions for Chinese companies to the 45nm range. Under strong pressure from the United States, the Netherlands could only give in and announced that it would implement a high-end attack on January 1, 2024DUV lithography machineshipment ban. Surprisingly, however, the United States ended up dropping the chain itself.
Forced by American companies, the Netherlands had to postpone further implementation of the new rules. They took the opportunity to announce the postponement of the implementation of the ban until January 1, 2024. However, now that the time has come, it is no longer possible to stand in the way of the coming fate.
asmlIt is the only EUV in the worldLithography machineManufacturers have gathered the world's top resources. But less than 10 percent of them are autonomous. This means that it is impossible to break free from the shackles of the United States. This also led them to be led by the nose by the Biden team.
China had made up its mindChipsThe goal of 70% autonomy. But at the high endChipsMore efforts are needed to make breakthroughs in the field. However, in maturityChipsThe field is different, as long as the problem of lithography equipment can be solved, it is completely possible to be completely autonomous.
asmlThe share of the Chinese market has surpassed that of the United States, and the potential is still expanding. Therefore, in the processingLithography machineWhen it comes to shipments, the Netherlands has always been biased towards Chinese customers. However, they are constantly constrained by the inability to autonomously produce capacity.
The new rules, which were originally scheduled to be re-implemented on September 1, will:asmlCan only be shippednxt:1980dithis device. However, this is a device from 10 years ago. Even if it can meet the low-to-mid endChipsThe cost of production will also be doubled. This has attracted a lot of attention. At the same time, the focus has gradually shifted to whether the Netherlands will be able to continue to ship high-end after January 1, 2024DUV lithography machine。For this issue,asmlA response has already been given: "The permit will expire at the end of 2023 and will no longer be available after January 1." "This shows that despite thatLithography machineThe ban remains in place after a three-month delayasmlPartially revoked due to the NetherlandsDUV lithography machineshipments will affect a small number of customers in Chinese mainland.
This means that the goal of the United States has been achieved. However, forasmlThis is not good news. Once China developed the correspondingLithography machineTechnology, the United States, Japan and the NetherlandsTripartite agreementNot only will it not be broken,asmlIt will also be very difficult to re-enter the Chinese mainland market.
Japanese companyCanonhas been developedNanoimprint technology and claim that there is a way to achieve 2nmChipsFabricate. From both an equipment and manufacturing standpoint, the cost can be reduced by at least half. This is a full-blown shock to the market. However, considering that Japan is currently accelerating the promotion of ".Tripartite agreementIt will not be easy for China to obtain this equipment in the future. On the other hand, the Chinese market urgently needs to supplement lithography equipment. If it is not possible to obtain it from overseas markets, then it can only start in-house.
In the face of being cornered, Chinese companies have shown a determination worthy of recognition. HuaweiWe have overcome many difficulties and achieved the autonomy of the two core technologies. However, ChinaTechnologyObviously, the full rise of the industry cannot be relied on aloneHuaweiThis one company. They need to join forces to build a complete system.
Everyone has their own opinion on this. I think that China'sTechnologyThe industry should further strengthen cooperation and increase independent research and development. Only by mastering the core technology can we truly get rid of the dependence on the technology of other countries. At the same time, more support and policy preferences should also be providedTechnologyEnterprises create a good environment for innovation.
In short,asmlThe reluctance to make a statement shows that the goal of the United States has been achieved. However, in the face of difficulties, Chinese companies have shown firm determination and the ability to independently develop ChinaTechnologyThe overall rise of the industry is unstoppable. I believe that with the joint efforts of the whole society, ChinaTechnologyThe industry will be able to move towards a more prosperous future.