Xiaomi has developed a 4nm chip. It's commendable, but who will produce it?
The Chinese are trying to become independent from American technology for their electronics industry. This is where they have difficulties. Developing a chip from scratch, which they can basically do, is only half the solution to the problem. The second half is the release of the processor at the factory, and this is precisely the stumbling block for most companies from China. Nevertheless, the development of modern chips is in full swing – both Huawei and Xiaomi are making progress here.
Xiaomi announced the creation of a 4nm chip, its premiere is expected before the end of 2024. Details are under the cut.
What kind of processor is this?
Xiaomi Corporation produces a huge amount of equipment – from smartphones to vacuum cleaners. And now she also plans to start producing her own chips. Moreover, we are talking about modern processors with a technological process no older than 4 nm, which a giant such as, say, Intel has not achieved.
Only a few Western companies produce more advanced chips using the 3-nm process technology. These include Apple, Qualcomm, MediaTek. Samsung and AMD are planning to join them soon.
But let's get back to the Chinese. Unfortunately, the device's specifications are classified, even the name is unknown. But it is known that the development was carried out jointly with Unisoc, formerly known as Spreadtrum, which makes ARM chips that are sold to many companies, including Xiaomi.
According to experts, both companies have joined forces to ensure that China has its own modern chips that can compete on equal terms with processors from the American Qualcomm and the Taiwanese MediaTek. All this is gradually bringing China closer to its cherished goal – complete or almost complete independence of its electronics industry from American technologies.
To judge the situation, I would, of course, like to know the characteristics of the processor. The fact that it is 4nm is good, but China already has its own chips. For example, Huawei released the Kirin 9000s at the end of 2023, and ordered it from TSMC, rather than producing it at its own facilities. And the characteristics of the chip are very modest. So, it is quite modern, produced using a 7-nm process technology. But it has only one TaiShan V120 core at 2.62 GHz, three TaiShan V120 cores at 2.15 GHz and four Cortex-A510 at 1.53 GHz, plus weak Maleoon 910 graphics. That is, this processor cannot compete with advanced Western chips Maybe.
On the other hand, this is still an independent development. And chips using the 7-nm process technology can already be produced by the Chinese contract manufacturer SMIC. Well, if China learns to produce its own 4-nm chips, even if they are not very fast, it is still a solid bid for victory. Experts suggest that the new processor will be equal in performance to Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. It was released by the American company 4 years ago, but is still relevant.
Okay, who will release this chip?
As far as we can tell, the company is SMIC.
Xiaomi doesn’t say anything about this, but the Chinese don’t have much to choose from – TSMC itself cannot cooperate with the PRC under sanctions. As previously reported, SMIC has been gradually purchasing DUV equipment for deep ultraviolet lithography. There was nothing stopping companies from the Middle Kingdom from buying them from ASML and other suppliers until the end of last year. Now, as far as one can judge, similar equipment is also still being purchased, although behind closed doors, and the systems being purchased are not the newest ones.
SMIC, as far as we know, modified its DUV equipment: added deposition and etching components that allow it to exceed the stated technical limitations. That is, by upgrading and refining these systems, SMIC can now produce 5-nm chips.
True, there are some problems – the fact is that the cost of processors will be higher than that of TSMC. This is because the equipment does not allow the production of chips with a low level of defects. The machines are not very high quality, so the “yield” of usable chips is about a third of what TSMC offers.
SMIC is committed to several areas of work to deploy new chip production in China:
purchase of lithographic machines from previous years (they are not under sanctions);
use of modern equipment imported into the country earlier;
development of software for chip design;
creation of our own lithographs, albeit working with outdated technologies.
Major successes have been achieved in most areas. At the end of last year, the company was able to master the 7-nm process technology. Earlier, it had mastered the older 28-nm and 14-nm processes.
SMIC announced at the beginning of the year that it would take over the production of Kirin chips for Huawei. The lines were assembled at the beginning of the year, so they are most likely already working. Another important nuance – at the SMIC plant installed ASML lithography machines, purchased in various ways. So now the company has all the capabilities to produce new chips.
Of course, it won’t be possible to immediately mass produce 4nm processors. Experts say that the distribution of such chips on Chinese smartphones will occur no earlier than 2026.
