Chinese chip equipment maker Shenzhen SiCarrier Industry Machines asserted on Thursday that its domestically developed tools could enable China to manufacture advanced semiconductors, despite U.S. export controls on high-end chipmaking technology.
Speaking at the Semicon China industry fair, SiCarrier president Du Lijun noted that while China lacks access to advanced lithography systems due to U.S. trade restrictions, alternative non-optical technologies could be used to produce 5-nanometer (nm) chips. He acknowledged that multi-patterning techniques could increase manufacturing complexity and reduce yields but argued that they provide a viable path for China to progress beyond 7 nm chips.
SiCarrier, founded in 2022 and backed by a state investment fund, supplies major Chinese foundries such as Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and reportedly collaborates with Huawei. The company was among 140 Chinese firms added to the U.S. trade blacklist in December 2023.
The firm’s multi-patterning approach, patented in late 2023, utilizes deep ultraviolet lithography (DUV) and self-aligned quadruple patterning (SAQP) to mimic certain EUV lithography capabilities while reducing costs. This strategy is seen as a potential workaround to Western restrictions on ASML’s extreme ultraviolet (EUV) machines.
