Current Status of the Integrated Circuit Industry in China

J. Microelectron. Manuf. 2, 19020205 (2019) doi: 10.33079/jomm.19020205

Editorial Introduction: China's IC industry has been flourishing in recent years, huge market demand together with government investments are the major driving forces for this development. The status and development momentum of the Chinese IC industry also attracted wide interest and attention of international counterparts. A group of domestic IC experts are invited by the JoMM to write a series of articles about China's IC industry, including the history, current status, development, and related government policies. Information in these articles is all from public data from recent years. The purpose of these articles is to enhance mutual understanding between the Chinese domestic IC industry and international IC ecosystem. The following article is the third one of this series, the status quo of China's IC industry. The IC industry chain is very long including design, manufacturing, special equipment, materials, packaging and testing. The article series are arranged in accordance with this scope.

― IC Manufacturing Industry

1. Introduction other hand, many IC design enterprises from abroad have poured into the Chinese market, among which The integrated circuit is a product featured with there are plenty of well-known design companies with fast revolution and high technologies. Speaking of the strong capital and technical strength, which further current international market structure, IC companies intensified the competition in Chinese market. are struggling with intellectual property dominance, As the foundation and core of the information the key IC industrial product global organizations industry, the integrated circuit is the basic, leading and presents the characteristics of multinational monopoly. strategic industry of the whole world of the national Integrated circuit multinational companies’ sales, economy and the society. In recent years, China's manufacturing and R & D strategies are in the electronic industry has continued to grow at a high direction of globalization. speed, and the integrated circuit industry has As the largest integrated circuit market in the experienced a period of rapid development. world, the self-sufficient ability of integrated circuits in China is low, and the pain of lacking core needs to 2. A Survey of Domestic Integrated be addressed urgently. With the rapid development of Circuit Manufacturers automotive electronics, smart phones and other cutting-edge applications, the domestic integrated The followings are brief review of the major circuit market has expanded rapidly. leading manufacturers that representing the At present, integrated circuits are still among the development of integrated circuits in China: cores of communication, multimedia and computer 2.1．Semiconductor Manufacturing International technology. High added value, technology intensive, Corporation (SMIC) strong competitiveness and huge output value are the advantages of integrated circuit industry. Integrated Semiconductor Manufacturing International circuit industry has great potential and vitality, and it Corporation (''SMIC", NYSE code: SMI, HK Ex is a well-deserved high-growth industry. Therefore, stock code: 981), SMIC was established in 2000. Its we must vigorously develop the integrated circuit headquarters is located in Shanghai, China. It is one industry, so as to promote the progress of economic of the leading IC chip contract manufacturers in the construction in China and accelerate the process of world, and it is also the largest and most advanced information industrialization. integrated circuit chip manufacturing enterprise in The integrated circuit design industry in China is mainland China. Its main business is to manufacture highly market-oriented. On the one hand, there are integrated circuit chips for customers according to the many domestic enterprises engaged in integrated integrated circuit design of the customer or the third circuit design, and the competition is fierce; on the party. The founder of the company is Dr. Rujing

1 Current Status of the Integrated Circuit Industry in China ― IC Manufacturing Industry

Zhang who used to work for Taiwan Semiconductor 2.2．Shanghai Huahong (Group) Co., Ltd. Manufacturing Company（TSMC）. At present, the vast majority of the company's executives are Shanghai Huahong (Group) Co., Ltd. was Taiwanese. It is one of the world's leading integrated established in 1996, the company is the result and circuit wafer contract manufacturers, SMIC provides carrier the national "909" project. 0.35μm~28nm wafer foundry and technical services While constructing and operating the first deep to global customers. submicron ultra-large-scale 8-inch integrated circuit SMIC has a 300mm chip factory and three production line in China, Huahong Group gradually 200mm chip factories in Shanghai. There are two becomes the core of chip manufacturing business. It 300mm chip factories in Beijing, a 200mm chip has gradually become an integrated circuit industry factory in Tianjin, a 200mm chip factory in Shenzhen group with the common development of integrated and a packaging and testing plant in Chengdu. SMIC circuit system integration and application services, also provides customer service and marketing offices chip manufacturing process research and in the United States, Europe and Japan, as well as development, chip design, electronic component trade, representative offices in Hong Kong. In addition, venture capital at home and abroad and other business SMIC International manages a 200mm chip factory platforms. on behalf of Chengdu Cension Semiconductor With the mission of "building the '909' project Manufacturing Corporation Ltd., and also manages a and promoting the development of the information 300mm chip factory on behalf of Wuhan Xinxin industry", Huahong Group is committed to playing Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (XMC). the main role of the state-owned industrial group in Semiconductor manufacturing is a capital the fields of 8-inch characteristic process chip expenditure industry, the lack of capital expenditure manufacturing, integrated circuit process research and capacity can easily lead to the company gradually fall development public platform, AFC and RFID system behind the advanced process competitors. The application, integrated circuit design service and so on. company's R & D investment has continued to grow, Huahong Group is a senior sponsor of World Expo with R & D spending of $318 million in 2016, R & D 2010 in Shanghai, successfully realizing the largest investment accounting for 10.92 percent of revenue, application of RFID technology in the field of tickets and R & D investment of $219 million in 2017, in the world, and has been well received by all parties. accounting for 14.18 percent of revenue. SMIC At present, Huahong Group is actively promoting the continues to increase R & D investment, 28nm "909" project upgrade-12-inch integrated circuit process will gradually release, meanwhile it has production line project construction. started the development of 14nm process. SMIC is After years of construction and development, expected to start trial production in 2019, and the Huahong Group has not only promoted the technological gap with international factories will development of integrated circuit industry in China, gradually narrow. but also made remarkable achievements in chip In the whole production process and the whole manufacturing, chip design, system and application service from R & D to mass production, SMIC services, process research and development, integrates a comprehensive quality and control system. electronic component trade and venture capital In addition, its diverse laboratories and tools can be (including overseas investment). It offers contract used for chemical and raw material analysis, product (foundry) technology, product process, chip design, failure analysis, yield improvement, reliability AFC system and other products and services to the inspection and monitoring, and equipment calibration. society and users. In order to ensure the consistency of product 2.3．China Resources Microelectronics Limited quality and the customer flexibility of different (“CR Micro”) customers, SMIC adopts the concept of "one big factory", that is, in all SMIC factories, each chip China Resources Microelectronics Limited factory optimizes the equipment and process (“CR Micro”) is a high-tech enterprise belonging to parameters in order to meet the standard and yield China Resources (Holdings) Co., Ltd. (CR) which requirement of testing (WAT) for the same wafer is engaged in investment, development and acceptance. operations management of microelectronics business,

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and it is also one of the largest and most influential the application range covers memory, consumer comprehensive microelectronics enterprises in China, products, mobile devices, SOC and system IC and been included in the top 100 electronic information other fields. The company will use the world's most enterprises continuously by the Ministry of Industry advanced technology to produce DRAM and NAND and Information Technology since 2004. flash memory. CR Micro takes it as its own responsibility to The project is the only industrial project revitalize the national microelectronics industry and approved by the State Council in Wuxi. The total focuses on the fields of simulation, power investment is 3.5 billion dollars. This project has the semiconductors and the like, and is dedicated to largest domestic semiconductor monomer investment becoming a leading enterprise embracing a culture of and the most advanced technology, as well it’s the innovative spirit, excellent performance and industrial largest wholly foreign-owned project in Jiangsu leadership in the Chinese semiconductor industry, to Province. As a joint venture between two important provide products and systematic solutions of groups in the semiconductor industry, Hynix- extraordinary quality to the benefit of a harmonious STMicroelectronics Co., Ltd. is bound to take a steady and efficient society. pace and move forward on the road of prosperity. CR Micro operates a business of integrated 2.5．HeJian Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. circuit design, mask manufacture, wafer fabrication, package testing and discrete devices, currently HeJian Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. is located holding 5 production lines of 6-8 inch wafer in Suzhou Industrial Park. It is a first-class wafer fabrication, 2 production lines of package testing, 1 manufacturer with strong foreign capital and production of mask manufacture and 3 design manufacturing cutting-edge integrated circuits. The companies, and it is the only enterprise possessing the first 8-inch wafer plant was officially put into complete semiconductor industry chain in China. production in May 2003 with a total investment of With the increase of the enterprise scale, CR more than $1.2 billion and a maximum monthly Micro also values its social responsibility, output of 60,000 tablets. At present, HeJian continuously carrying out environmental protection technology is the fastest in the same industry in China as well as energy-saving and emission-reducing to achieve monthly, quarterly profit and loss balance, measures. It has been awarded titles such as Advanced and employ high efficiency production capacity and Unit of Energy-saving in “Eleventh Five-Year Plan” high level of process technology to create a sustained by Jiangsu Province, Category II Enterprise of profit and excellent performance of wafer industry “Resources-saving Type and Environment-friendly enterprises. It has introduced the upstream and Type” by Wuxi City Government, and has been downstream industries into Suzhou Industrial Park to elected a top “Green” enterprise for four successive form a clustering effect, completed the first step in the years according to the Environmental Behavior rating layout of integrated circuit industry in China, and of The Yangtze River Delta region. planned to establish a number of wafer manufacturing plants. 2.4．Hynix-STMicroelectronics Co., Ltd. (Wuxi) HeJian Technology adheres to the business Hynix Semiconductor was founded in 1983 as a philosophy of customer satisfaction and growing modern electronics industry co., Ltd., officially listed together with customers, and provides customers with in Korea in 1996, acquired LG Semiconductor in 1999, comprehensive and competitive services, including and changed its name to Hercules Semiconductor in multi-project wafer (MPW) services, IP services, 2001, which was separated from Hyundai Group. In BOAC, Mini-library and so on. Senior, professional October 2004, the system IC business was sold to technical and business team in new product Citigroup as a professional memory manufacturer. It development, scheme design, delivery time, quality is the world's second-largest DRAM manufacturer. improvement and good rate to provide strong support Hynix-STMicroelectronics Co., Ltd. is a wholly to customers. The long-term commitment to promote foreign-owned world-class memory company the overall development of the Chinese established by the joint venture of the South Korean semiconductor industry has established a cooperative (strain) Hynix semiconductor and the European relationship with a number of design companies. STMicroelectronics Co., Ltd. in the export processing Through cooperation with the technical production of zone of Wuxi New Area of Jiangsu. Its main product HeJian technology, these design companies have includes 8-inch and 12-inch integrated circuit wafer, made significant achievements in the market

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development and the operation of the company. Lili world's leading manufacturers of integrated devices also provides preferential MPW services for and non-production line semiconductor companies. industrialization bases, and signs school-enterprise Shanghai advanced semiconductor production cooperation agreements with many famous standards and special semiconductors, designed by universities in China to implement the strategy of the company's customers, products for a variety of localization of talents and provide perfect training end-market applications, including computers, programs for employees. At the same time, HeJian communications and consumer electronics. In 2009, technology also actively practices social Shanghai Advanced Semiconductor obtained VDA6. responsibility, actively participates in social public 3 quality system certification, now has an "A" welfare activities, and supports the education of qualified supplier to provide services for the vulnerable groups and poor areas. international automotive market. In the future, HeJian technology will actively The company provides customers with a wide expand the mainstream product market, develop more range of processing technologies. Comprises the advanced and special application technology, and following steps of: simulating a bipolar, BICMOS and continue to expand capacity to meet the expanding HVMOS processing technology of a semiconductor, market demand. At the same time, HeJian technology and a non-volatile storage memory technology for cooperates with the head office UMC to carry out manufacturing an intelligent ID card. With the business promotion in the mainland to facilitate flexible manufacturing mode of various processing customers to obtain the 6-inch, 8-inch and 12-inch technologies, ASMC can support the customer's full-range customer-oriented wafer solutions specific manufacturing requirements. At present, provided by the group in a timely manner. there are one 5-inch, 6-inch, 8-inch and MEMS independent production lines in Shanghai Pudong 2.6．Shougang NEC Electronics Co., Ltd. New River Basin. Shougang NEC Electronics Co., Ltd. (SGNEC) 2.8．TSMC (Shanghai) China Company Limited is a joint venture of Shougang and NEC Electronics Corporation. It is committed to semiconductor TSMC (Shanghai) China Company Limited integrated circuit manufacturing and sales (TSMC Shanghai) is located in Songjiang Science and manufacturers. The company was founded in Technology Park of Shanghai. It is a wholly owned December 1991, the assembly line was put into subsidiary of TSMC, and it is also an important part production in April 1994 and the diffusion line was of its global layout. TSMC will use its rich success put into operation in April 1995. experience to help customers eliminate all kinds of The company has a complete production line of difficulties from design to final listing, provide semiconductor integrated circuit production customers with the most complete product solutions, (including wafer manufacturing and IC packaging). and establish a long-term and deep partnership with Its main products are MCU (microcomputer control customers. TSMC is the largest and most trusted unit) circuit, remote control circuit, display drive wafer manufacturing service partner in the world, and circuit, general LIC and so on. At the same time, the is also the best pipeline for obtaining the best wafer company targets at domestic customers to carry out manufacturing service in China and the world. TSMC the labor business of foundry products. Shanghai is facing the mainland domestic customers, Manufacturing level: 6-inch wafer 0.35 μm, can providing high-quality production, operation and handle 15,000 pieces per month. IC package: QFP design services, and the antenna of its business team series and many other package types, totaling 200 has spread throughout the country. million pieces/year. TSMC is the world's leading and largest professional integrated circuit manufacturing service 2.7．Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing company. In the generation of advanced process Corporation Limited (ASMC) technology, it has become a trend for many companies Shanghai Advanced Semiconductor is a leading to produce and manufacture outside the company. manufacturer of analog chips. It mainly produces When the development of integrated circuit industry imitating-true semiconductors and bipolar high- begins to enter such a new model, TSMC undoubtedly content mixed-signal semiconductors, and has a has an excellent strategic position and the best profit leading position in automotive electronics, MEMS advantage. and IGBT. ASMC’s customers include some of the TSMC was established in Xinzhu Science

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Industrial Park on February 21, 1987. It is the first with world-class leadership in NOR flash technology, professional integrated circuit manufacturing service and provides advanced technology platform for logic, company in the world. As a global leader, TSMC non-volatile memory, mixed signal, radio-frequency, provides the most advanced process technology in the high-voltage device and static memory, and the industry and has the most complete component capacity of the wafer is 44,000 per month. database (Library), intelligent (IP), design tool 2.10．Jilin Sino-Microelectronics Co., Ltd. (JSMC) (Design Tools) and design reference process (Reference Flow). In the field of professional wafer Jilin Sino-Microelectronics Co., Ltd. is located manufacturing services. in Jilin High-tech Industrial Development Zone, In 2004, TSMC and its investment, the total which is a national key high-tech enterprise, and is capacity of the joint venture, has reached 4.8 million established as a national enterprise technology center pieces of eight-inch wafer (estimated) for the whole and a national post-doctoral research work station. year. The plant area in Taiwan includes a six-inch The company now has nearly 2000 employees, R & wafer factory (fab2), five eight-inch wafer factories D personnel account for 20% of the company's total (fab2, fab5, fab6, fab7 and fab8), two twelve-inch number. The company's total assets are 2.7 billion wafer factories (fab12, fab14). yuan, more than 2,000 employees, R & D personnel accounted for more than 30% of the company's total 2.9．Shanghai Huahong Grace Semiconductor number, covers an area of nearly 400,000 square Manufacturing Co., Ltd. meters, construction area of 135,000 square meters, Shanghai Huahong Grace Semiconductor purification area of 17,000 square meters, the main Manufacturing Co., Ltd. opened on September 23, purification level is 0.3 microns Hundreds of levels. 2003. The total investment for the first phase of the The company was listed on the Shanghai Stock project was $1.63 billion. At present, it has built two Exchange in March 2001 with stock code 600360 and 12-inch factory buildings, one of which has been put total share capital of 521.6 million shares. into production at the A line (8-inch line). By the end Jilin Sino-Microelectronics Co., Ltd is a high- of 2004, it produced 27,000 pieces of 8-inch silicon tech enterprise which integrates power semiconductor wafers. It is available in 0.25/0.22/0.18/0.15/0.12 μm device design and research, chip processing, processes, including: logic, mixed-signal, RF, high- packaging testing and product marketing. voltage devices, and mask memory, static memory, Demonstrated by the Ministry of Science and flash memory, embedded flash memory, and more. Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shanghai Huahong Grace Semiconducor other national institutions, it is listed as the national Manufacturing Co., Ltd. ("Huahong Grace"), formed enterprise technology center, the national postdoctoral by the new merger of Shanghai Huahong NEC research workstation, and the national innovative Electronics Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Grace enterprise. Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., is the Jilin Sino-Microelectronics Co., Ltd. has 3-inch, world's leading 8-inch foundry. HuaHong Grace has 4-inch, 5-inch and 6-inch power semiconductor three 8-inch integrated circuit production lines in discrete devices and IC chip production lines, chip Zhangjiang and Jinqiao, Shanghai, with a monthly processing capacity of more than 3 million chips per capacity of 124,000. The company is headquartered in year, packaging capacity of 3 billion pieces per year. Shanghai, China, providing sales and technical The company has a number of patents in terminal support in Taiwan, Japan, North America and Europe. design, process manufacturing and product design. HuaHong and Grace signed a legally binding Each series of products adopt bipolar, MOS merger agreement on September 13, 2011. The technology and integrated circuit and other core trading structure of the merger is all-stock trading. manufacturing technologies. The company mainly Under the terms of the merge agreement, HuaHong produces power semiconductor devices and IC, issued new shares to Grace's existing shareholders in applications in consumer electronics, energy-saving exchange for all Grace's issued shares. lighting, computer, PC, automotive electronics, Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is communication protection and industrial control. The a leader in advanced 8-inch semiconductor production trademark has been recognized as a "well-known technology in China, focusing on high-quality trademark in China". The company has formed a manufacturing services and high value-added series of products such as VDMOS, IGBT, FRED, technologies. It has an 8-inch chip-generation factory SBD, BJT as the main line of marketing, and has

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Table 1. Top 10 pure wafer foundries in 2016 (million dollars).

Rank Company Location Sales Market share Growth rate 1 TSMC Taiwan, China 29488 59% 11% 2 Global Foundries USA 5545 11% 10% 3 UMC Taiwan, China 4582 9% 3% 4 SMIC China 2921 6% 31% 5 Power chip Taiwan, China 1275 3% 1% 6 Tower jazz Israel 124 2% 36% 7 VIS Taiwan, China 800 1% 9% 8 HHGrace China 712 1% 10% 9 Dongbu HiTek South Korea 672 1% 13% 10 X-Fab Germany 510 1% 54% Others 2251 <1% -6% Total 50005 100% 11%

become a manufacturer of solutions for customers in are seeing a larger gap between the world's leading the field of power semiconductor devices. manufacturers are widening trend. How to moving Jilin Sino-Microelectronics Co., Ltd. has more steadily on the existing basis and gradually narrow the than 40 years of production and operation history of gap is a great challenge to the viability of SMIC, power semiconductor device design and development, HuaHong, Huali Microelectronics represented chip processing, packaging and sales. The company continent foundries. has a 4-inch,5-inch and 6-inch power semiconductor The global wafer industry has steadily increased wafer production line. The chip processing capacity is and the industry is concentrated. ICInsight expects the more than 2.2 million chips per year, and the pure wafer replacement plant to be 7.5% a year from packaging capacity is 2.2 billion pieces per year. The 2016 to 2021. Compound growth of 6 percent rose main products of organic box power transistor, color from $50 billion in 2016 to $72.1 billion in 2021. The TV line output tube and power tube, energy saving concentration pure-wafer foundry industry is very lamp, ballast, transformer Bipolar power transistor, high, and the top four pure wafer-generation plants VDMOS field effect power transistor, semiconductor account for 85% of the global share, of which the discharge tube, single/bidirectional thyristor, Schottky, TSMC has a market share of nearly 60%. Based on fast recovery diode and other products. Products are the threshold of high technology and high investment widely used in all kinds of household appliances, in wafer contract industry, it can be inferred that the green lighting, computer, automotive electronics, pattern of wafer contract industry will not change network communication, industrial control and other much in the short term, but SMIC may be the fastest fields. Through a good joint venture and cooperation growing foundry in the near future. with PHILIPS, FAIRCHILD, China Microelectronics Compared with the international giants, it still has become one of the largest semiconductor power takes a long time to catch up for the domestic top three. device manufacturing bases in China. From the perspective of the mainland market, because of the rise of the domestic market, especially the rapid 2.11．Foundry Top Three: SMIC, HuaHong development of the design company, the sales of the Semiconductor, Huali Microelectronics pure fabs in the country are growing rapidly. In the foundry market, mainland companies According to ICInsight, the mainland wafer contract faced with challenges and opportunities. On the one industry market reached $7 billion in 2017, a jump of hand, mainland China design company in the fast- 16 percent from a year earlier, significantly higher growing, local design companies have a natural than the global average. TSMC is still a dominant tendency to support local manufacturers; on the other family, accounting for as much as 47%. hand, the manufacturing sector entrance barrier for The domestic advanced process falls behind by funds, human and knowledge accumulated has more than two generations. Semiconductor increased, and Chinese manufacturers in these areas manufacturing market concentration keeps on

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climgfgfggfbing Table 2. Major pure wafer foundries in China market forecast (million dollars). Share of the Percentage of Company 2017 sales mainland market company sales TSMC 3170 46% 10% SMIC 1455 21% 47% UMC 635 9% 13% Global Foundries 475 7% 8% HHGrace 455 7% 56% HLMC(Shanghai huali) 235 3% 45% XMC 115 2% 45% Others 410 6% 6% Total 6950 100% 13% TSMC 3170 46% 10% SMIC 1455 21% 47% UMC 635 9% 13% Global Foundries 475 7% 8% HHGrace 455 7% 56% HLMC(Shanghai huali) 235 3% 45% XMC 115 2% 45% Others 410 6% 6% Total 6950 100% 13%

Figure 1. The concentration of wafer manufacturing is increasing.

climbing, only giants can continue to develop and mass production in 2015, and 28nm is still the main promote the development of technology. The 28-14 process. nm process node of the global integrated circuit The most advanced manufacturing process of the industry is mature, and the 14/10 nm process has local fab is still in the 28 nm Poly/SiON scheme, entered mass production, and Intel, Samsung and although it has achieved good results in the 28-nm TSMC have announced that the sub-10nm chip revenue-making ratio and the 28-nm-HKMG mass- production has been realized, and the production line production process. SMIC is the leader of domestic of 7 nm and 5 nm is prepared to continue to invest. pure wafer manufacturing plants. SMIC has a However, the domestic 28nm process only achieved considerable comparative advantage in the traditional

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Figure 2. 2016 global wafer capacity structure.

Table 3. Important manufacturer manufacturing node technology roadmap.

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019E Intel 22nm 14 nm 10 nm SAMSUNG 28 nm 20 nm 14 nm TSMC 28 nm 20 nm 16 nm 10 nm 7 nm 5 nm Global 32 nm 28 nm 14 nm 10 nm Foundries UMC 28 nm 14 nm SMIC 40 nm 28 nm

process (≥ 40nm) and actively expands the field of 2.12．Memory Top Two: Yangtze Memory 28nm, but the biggest obstacle is the lack of yield of Technologies Co., Ltd. (YMTC) and ChangXin 28nm and the production of 14nm. Once a Memory Technologies, Inc. (CXMT) breakthrough is made in the next 6 months, it will open up a broader space for the company, and the In 2017 China is the payer both for DRAM and corresponding expansion and rhythm will be greatly NAND flash, and the current domestic supply rate is improved. Liang Mengsong joined SMIC as a joint still zero. At present, the 12-inch wafer factories used CEO, greatly improving the certainty of the key to specialize in memory production in mainland China process. Liang Mengsong was the technical core are mainly foreign-funded enterprises, including SK figure of TSMC and Samsung in his early years. Each Hercules (Wuxi), Samsung (Xi'an) and Intel (Dalian). node of TSMC's 130nm and Samsung 45/32/28nm The local storage project has just started, and the has Liang's outstanding contribution. Liang leads the production line is still under construction, including 14nm research and development, effectively Wuhan Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Ltd. integrating the existing resources of SMIC, speeding (YMTC) and Hefei ChangXin Memory Technologies, up the process 14nm development. On the other hand, Inc. (CXMT). the synchronous landing layout of foreign YMTC was established by UNIS in cooperation manufacturers such as TSMC (Nanjing), UMC with Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor Manufacturing (Xiamen) and Global Foundries (Chengdu) will Co., Ltd.(XMC), with an initial investment of more further aggravate the competition with the local than 60 billion yuan and an additional investment of manufacturers in the advanced process. 30 billion dollars in the future. The national memory

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Table 4. SMIC process technology layout and product portfolio. MS/ NOR NAND SMIC CIS BCD IGBT HV Logic Embd MEMS TSV RFSOI RF Flash Flash 14nm C 24nm 28nm C B A C B 38nm 40/45 A A C A nm 55nm C A A A B C 65nm A A A 90nm A A A SPOCU A B A B B LL95 0.11μm A A A 0.13 μm A C A A A 0.15 μm A A A 0.18 μm A A A A A A A A A 0.25 μm A A 0.35 μm A A A A A A A

Table 5. Memory fabs in mainland China. Production Company Code Location Product (thousands/month) HC1 Wuxi DRAM 100 SK Hynix HC2 Wuxi DRAM 70 Complete built Intel FAB68 Dalian NAND Flash 40 SAMSUNG FAB x1 Xian NAND Flash 120 YMTC FAB 1 Wuhan Nor Flash 25 JHICC FAB 1 Jinjiang DRAM 60 Building YMTC FAB 2 Wuhan NAND、DRAM 300 CXMT FAB 1 Hefei DRAM 60 FAB NJ Nanjing NAND、DRAM 100 Ready to build UNIS FAB SZ Shenzhen NAND、DRAM 40

Table 6. Important manufacturer's process node technology route. 2014 2015 2016 2017F 2018F SAMSUNG 20nm 18nm 17nm Hynix 25nm 21nm 18nm Micron 25nm 20nm 17nm

base project was started at the end of 2016. In 2017 capacity will reach up to 300,000 wafers by 2020. February, the 32-layer 3D NAND chip, developed UNIS also plans to invest in Chengdu and Shenzhen jointly with the Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese two NAND Flash 12-inch production lines with a total Academy of Sciences, successfully passed through capacity of 140,000 per month. However, UNIS's the test, and a number of 3D NAND patents have been NAND Flash process node is still one generation granted, which is expected to be put into operation at behind overseas. At present, the focus of YMTC is on the end of 2018. It is expected that the production the development of 3D NAND flash, and it is also

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Figure 3. Process node for NAND flash. Courtesy of TechInsights.

promoting the DRAM development of 20/18nm. The According to statistics data, there are 22 progress of DRAM is slower than that of NAND mainstream fabs in the mainland China, including 13 FLASH, and is expected to reach mass production as 8-inch fabs and 9 12-inch fabs. On top of that, more soon as 2020. than 10 fabs are under construction, including 3 8- ChangXin Memory Technologies, Inc. (CXMT) inch fabs and 10 12-inch fabs. was founded according to the agreement signed between GigaDevice, SMIC former CEO Wang Ningguo and Hefei Production Investment, the project budget is 18 billion yuan. GigaDevice is Acknowledgments responsible for the development for the 12-inch 19nm mobile DRAM process by the end of 2018, with a We would like to extend appreciation to the product yield of not less than 10%. ChangXin graduate students: Weichen Liu, Tianyang Gai, Cheng Memory Technologies has become the first Guo, Pengzheng Gao from the Institute of independent large-scale DRAM factory in China, and Microelectronics of Chinese Academy of Sciences will be the fourth company in the world to break (IMECAS) and Lei Qu, Xiaoting Li from North China through the DRAM production technology below University of Technology for their contribution of 20nm. contents.

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