China's SMIC Produces its First "14nm" FinFET Chips
takyon writes:
SMIC: 14nm FinFET in Risk Production; China's First FinFET Line To Contribute Revenue by Late 2019
SMIC, the largest contract maker of semiconductors in China, announced this month that it would start commercial production of chips using its 14 nm FinFET manufacturing technology by the end of the year. This is the first FinFET manufacturing line in China, making it a notable development for a country that already houses a significant number of fabs, as the world's leading-edge manufacturers never installed FinFET technology in China for geopolitical and IP reasons. SMIC in turn seems to expect a rather rapid ramp of its 14 nm node, as it anticipates the new manufacturing line will meaningfully contribute to its revenue before the end of the year.
According to SMIC, their 14 nm FinFET manufacturing technology was developed entirely in-house and is expected to significantly increase transistor density, increase performance, and lower power consumption of chips when compared to devices made using the company's 28 nm process that relies on planar transistors. Earlier this year it was expected that SMIC would start production of 14 nm chips already in the first half of 2019, so the firm seems to be a little behind the schedule. Nonetheless, an in-house FinFET process technology is quite a breakthrough for a relatively small company that puts it into a club with just five[*] other foundries with FinFET technologies.
Fin Field-Effect Transistor (FinFET).
[*] SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation) would be joining the ranks of these five other companies with FinFET technology: TSMC, Samsung Electronics, Intel, Global Foundries, and SK Hynix.
Previously: China Lags Behind Other Countries in Semiconductor Manufacturing
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.