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Huawei is working on plans to create a private chip factory in Shanghai that will not use U.S. technology, which will allow it to secure supplies for telecommunications infrastructure work despite U.S. sanctions.
According to the Financial Times, the plant is operated by the Shanghai municipal government-backed chip research company called the Shanghai Research and Development Center (ICRD).
The project is helping Huawei, which has no experience in chip making, pave the way for long-term survival.
Industry experts said: The planned domestic facility will be a potential new source of semiconductors after the build-up of stocks of chips imported from Huawei since last year, according to the Arab Portal for New Techniques.
The manufacturing plant first tests low-quality 45nm chips, a leading chip technology that has been in use for 15 years.
Huawei wants to make 28-nanometer chips by the end of next year, and such a plan allows Huawei to make smart TVs and other IoT devices.
Huawei then aims to produce 20-nanometer chips by the end of 2022, so that they can be used to manufacture most communications equipment for 5G networks and allow this business activity to continue even with the sanctions. American.
smartphones
The planned new production line for smartphones will not help, as the chips needed for smartphones have to be produced through more advanced technological nodes.
The chips that Huawei needs to create mobile base stations are made using 14nm technology, but 28nm technology can be used.
Huawei can compensate for shortcomings on the software and system side, and Chinese manufacturers can afford higher costs and operational shortcomings than their overseas competitors.
The project could boost China’s ambitions to eliminate its dependence on foreign chip technology, especially the United States, which wants to slow down China’s development as a technological powerhouse.
Strong capacities
Huawei is investing in the domestic semiconductor industry, especially among smaller operators.
“We have strong chip design capabilities,” the company said in September. “We are very excited to help the trusted supply chain develop its chip manufacturing capabilities, equipment and materials.”
Huawei plans to outfit its domestic production exclusively with Chinese-made machines, but analysts warn such a goal is elusive for several years.
It is likely that such a facility will work with a range of equipment from various Chinese suppliers, such as: (AMEC) and (Naura), in addition to some used foreign tools they can find in the market.
It would be less efficient and more expensive to manufacture chips in such an environment, but Huawei can afford it, because the amount of semiconductor needed for base stations is far less than the amount needed for products like smartphones. .
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