China’s leading chip equipment manufacturer, SiCarrier, has taken a bold step forward, introducing an array of tools aimed at significantly boosting its domestic semiconductor production capabilities.
SiCarrier’s Ambitions in Chipmaking and its Global Impact
China has made great strides in the semiconductor field recently, largely due to a focused national effort to reduce reliance on foreign technologies. Companies like Huawei and SMIC have driven this effort, and SiCarrier, a firm reportedly supported by Huawei, plays a significant role in this new wave of innovation. During SEMICON 2025 in China, SiCarrier unveiled its latest suite of tools, signifying their determination to push forward without constraint.
In a recent release featuring insights from tech enthusiast @zephyr_z9, SiCarrier showcased a variety of new chipmaking tools. Among them were the RTP (Rapid Thermal Processing) systems, essential for fabricating integrated circuits. Interestingly, their current offerings do not include lithography equipment, which suggests SiCarrier might have strategic reasons for withholding these details. This new collection of tools positions SiCarrier as a competitor to industry leaders like ASML, Applied Materials, and Lam Research, though the real test lies in their effectiveness in China’s market.
At a recent SEMICON event, Du Lijun, the president of SiCarrier, announced that their domestic equipment is capable of producing 5nm chips. However, the reliance on non-optical technologies presents yield rate challenges, leading to higher production costs compared to international standards. Collaborations with SMIC and Huawei aim to tackle these issues. Achieving chip production independence is a significant goal for China, and many anticipate breakthroughs in the near future.
Du Lijun was quoted by Reuters, suggesting that there might be innovative ways to address lithography challenges using their existing processes.
One of SiCarrier’s central goals is to shift the semiconductor industry’s balance from regions such as the Netherlands, a key supplier of chipmaking tools. They’ve reportedly partnered with Huawei and Shenzhen authorities to develop custom EUV prototypes utilizing laser-induced discharge plasma (LDP). This development could pave the way for China to achieve self-sufficiency in EUV lithography, a crucial step toward creating advanced semiconductor nodes.
Overall, SiCarrier’s efforts represent a significant move toward enhancing China’s chipmaking capabilities and potentially altering the global semiconductor landscape.
