Since the invention of integrated circuits, electronic devices have become smaller and more refined, and with the manufacture of smaller chips, the difficulty of manufacturing smaller chips has become higher and higher, more and more refined. Then in order to complete these complex processes, then the most precise and complex in the manufacture of integrated circuits, the most difficult, but also the most expensive equipment, lithography machine was invented by us. At the same time, because of the lithography process, it will directly affect the line width of the semiconductor line, which in turn affects the performance and consumption of the entire chip. Therefore, the lithography machine has become the most critical device in the semiconductor industry.
At present, the world is still relatively lacking in chips, especially high-end chips. In the current situation, increasing the production capacity of chips has become a consensus of semiconductor companies around the world. However, now the world's high-end lithography machine suppliers can count only a few fingers, and most of them rely on American technology to complete mass production. Then in the past two years, because the United States has revised its rules and begun to strictly suppress China's chip imports, it has led to the dutch asmail lithography machine can no longer achieve normal shipments to China.
Although SMIC has a lithography machine, it is relatively simple in the international community, and the technology of Azmer in the Netherlands is still too different. Strictly speaking, Huawei Qualcomm and other companies, it is not that it will not manufacture chips, but what to say, he is good at the industrial design of chips, but in the field of manufacturing high-end chips, it lacks high-end lithography equipment. So when China used to produce high-end chips, it was all foreign high-end lithography machines, which is why now we will be necked by the American card, because we use someone else's technology on the lithography machine, if we want not to be necked by the American card, we have no way but to develop our own domestic high-end lithography machine, you like Samsung They belong to both design chips and make chips themselves, in addition to Samsung will make chips, as well as Intel, TSMC, as well as SMIC, International and so on.
Therefore, in the past, Huawei generally looked for TSMC to oem it, and Qualcomm Apple generally relied on TSMC and Samsung to produce high-end chips for it. So although TSMC is quite powerful, but many of their machines are not developed by themselves, so more equipment is from the United States or the technology of those countries controlled by the United States.
If the United States says that you can no longer provide chips to Huawei, otherwise I will not sell these high-end machinery and equipment to you, these companies will have no way, so the localization of lithography machines is imminent, but just recently China's Shanghai microelectronics has come a good news, in terms of lithography machines, we have finally made a huge breakthrough. On February 7 this year, China's first packaging lithography machine manufactured by Shanghai Microelectronics has completed offline delivery, which means that China has made new breakthroughs in chips, back roads, and equipment, and the West will not be able to card China's neck on advanced packaging equipment in the future. Of course, this domestic lithography machine is different from the concept of EVU lithography machine and DUV lithography machine. This is called packaging lithography machine, it is mainly used for the packaging process, and we are talking about EVU and DUV lithography machine it is used for chip lithography, although this release is not used to manufacture chips before the lithography machine, but the packaging process is equally important, but also a key part of chip production.
The packaging process is to package the chip, but you don't underestimate this packaging, to the chip packaging can reduce the power consumption of the chip, can improve the performance of the chip, for the production of the chip is crucial, it is the etched silicon wafer into a chip that can be used, it must be used to use the processing of the posterior lithography machine. And the more advanced the chip you design the structure, the more important the requirements for the accuracy of the package, in the case of the western manufacturing process is close to the limit, if you want to improve the chip structure, to improve the performance of the chip, the future may not be too much. Nowadays, Shanghai Microelectronics has created China's first encapsulated lithography machine, which is undoubtedly an important breakthrough in the localization of lithography machines in the mainland.
Before, China's chips in the process of packaging, we use the packaging lithography machine is mainly produced abroad, then now our country independently developed the packaging lithography machine, then to a large extent, we can reduce the dependence on foreign countries, but also greatly accelerated our pace of localization in lithography machine manufacturing, for the entire semiconductor field is of great significance, our ultimate goal is to completely get rid of the dependence on foreign technology, then we may achieve such a goal in the future? I think it's very possible to achieve.
We see that In addition to Shanghai Microelectronics is perfecting the 28-nanometer lithography machine and breaking through the 14-nanometer lithography machine technology, then in the back road lithography machine, its market share is also one of the best. Now look at the back road of Shanghai microelectronics, lithography machine, our domestic market share has been 80%, the international market share has reached 40%, it can be said that in this regard we are gradually taking charge. Now That Shanghai Microelectronics has mastered the most advanced rear-channel lithography machine production technology, it is now waiting for our front-channel lithography machine to achieve a breakthrough in the process. If the domestic EUV lithography machine appears on the day of its appearance, then the integrity and advanced degree of the entire industrial chain of China's chip manufacturing will be qualitatively improved.
In addition, from the perspective of our research and development environment, China is still the second largest economy in the world, we have better control of the epidemic, and the economic development momentum is very strong, in the economic development has also learned from the right track, we are also paying more and more attention to industrial upgrading, industrial transformation of high-tech research, in the future we will also have more huge funds to invest in the research and development of lithography machines.
Then we are in such a stable economic environment and concentrate on research and development environment, then in the future is likely to get rid of the dependence on foreign lithography machines, and China has a very huge scientific research potential. In the past, China did not develop the atomic bomb from a poor and white, and since entering the 21st century, our country has made many great international achievements in the research and development of chips, the research and development of operating systems, some aerospace technology, and communication technology. Then these achievements are reminding us that China also has great potential in high-tech research and development, if we want to do it, invest energy and funds to engage in it, not only can we get it out, but we can do it better than abroad. So personally, I still have great confidence in the motherland.
Then with the official announcement of Shanghai Microelectronics, the first domestic high-end advanced encapsulated lithography machine has officially landed and successfully achieved delivery, which is undoubtedly a huge encouragement for us. This also verifies a sentence of Academician Ni, that is, the core technology cannot be bought, cannot be sought, cannot be exchanged, we should give up our illusions, we must engage in independent research and development. In short, from the current momentum, China's high-end chip industry chain is about to be built, the Western can be our card neck of the field will be reduced one by one, and China's microelectronics industry will certainly enter a new era in the future.