The United States intends to ban the import of Optipure grinding fluid! Intel objected: This will exacerbate the core shortage crisis

Abstract: December 13 news, recently, Intel tried to dissuade the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ban on the key raw material required for chip manufacturing - Optiplane abrasive, saying that this move will exacerbate the shortage of semiconductor chips.

December 13 news, recently, Intel tried to dissuade the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ban on the key raw material required for chip manufacturing - Optiplane abrasive, saying that this move will exacerbate the shortage of semiconductor chips.

DuPont currently manufactures the abrasive in Japan and Taiwan, but DuPont's product was alleged to have infringed its technology patents by CMC Materials Inc., an Illinois-based materials technology company based in the United States.

CMC's Cabot Microelectronics said Optiplane used Cabot's "cutting-edge" technology to extract silica particles from a slurry of polished semiconductor layers, which Cabot uses in its iDiel range of abrasives.

The U.S. ITC may announce a ban on the import of Optiplane abrasive fluid into the United States on December 16.

Intel told the ITC that "the ban, in the absence of a 24-month transition period, prohibits the use of Optiplane pastes on production lines of U.S. semiconductor chips that could conflict with U.S. national security and economic interests." Intel also said the move would exacerbate an already "precarious" shortage of chips.

These abrasives are used at different steps in the semiconductor manufacturing process, and "the subtle differences between them have a huge impact on the manufacturing environment," Intel said.

The U.S. International Trade Commission's ban could hit Intel more than some competitors as Intel relies more heavily on its U.S. factories. ITC lawyers acting as a third party in this case representing the public interest support Intel's call to postpone the import ban for 24 months.

Thomas Chen, the agency's investigative lawyer, told the commission last month that the delay would "provide Intel with enough time to transition to an acceptable non-infringing alternative, especially if the commission finds a shortage of semiconductor chips." But Carbon said Intel and DuPont are simply using chip shortages as an excuse to evade import bans.

Editor: Xin ZhiXun - Lin Zi