Preface
In the face of years of suppression and sanctions by the United States on the mainland's chip research and development, China has broken through the encirclement and blockade by itself, and has a place in the field of chip research and development.
The United States could not have expected that after so many years of blockade, China's science and technology has not been stifled in the cradle but has become more and more vigorous, and the equipment that originally relied on foreign chip manufacturing has now gradually been replaced by domestic production.
This means that China will continue to develop as usual, and it can fully realize localized supply and self-sufficiency in the field of chip research and development, and chips with advanced processes will also be completely overcome. At that time, the United States wanted to suppress it, but it was not enough.
Six Chinese companies jointly announced that the chip problem is only one step away
Recently, there has been good news in the field of chip research and development in China, and the most exciting thing is that the six Chinese companies jointly announced that the chip manufacturing equipment photoresist will achieve mass production of chips above 7nm.
It is important to know that photoresist is an indispensable part of the chip manufacturing stage, and its status can be compared with the lithography machine.
Among them, the country with the most imports is Japan, with a total import value of US$2.35 billion in 2022, and Japan's imports of US$1.205 billion, accounting for more than half.
Photoresist plays an important role in pattern transfer, size and integration, and process fineness in chip R&D and manufacturing, and its performance can directly affect the quality, performance, and manufacturing cost of chips.
In addition, Japan's supply of materials and equipment closely related to chip research and development to China will inevitably be restricted and required by the "Entity List" of the United States, and in 2023, there will be news in the industry that Japan will stop supplying KrF photoresist to a memory wafer factory in the mainland.
Therefore, in today's chip development situation, long-term dependence on overseas imports is not a long-term solution. Only by independent innovation and unblocking all the difficulties and obstacles in the field of chip research and development can we truly master the core technology and not let others get stuck in the development neck.
With the unremitting efforts of the state and enterprises, six high-tech companies, including SMIC, Huawei HiSilicon, and Unisplendour, announced that the realization of domestic substitution of mid-to-high-end chips is one step in the door.
Significant progress has been made in photoresist technology, and the United States is panicking
The localization of photoresist no longer seems to be a dream, and this news has greatly encouraged the development of China's science and technology, but also made the United States panic.
Although China has made a major breakthrough in the field of photoresist production, there is still a gap between the lithography machine technology and the world's top chip research and development technology.
The current domestic chips can basically meet the needs of domestic intelligent technology, but it is far from enough, in order to achieve a qualitative leap in scientific and technological strength, advanced process chips are indispensable.
High-end lithography machines should also be matched, and China's lithography machines basically rely on overseas imports, especially with the Dutch company ASML has a long-term partnership.
The United States has issued several bans to the Dutch government to restrict China's supply of advanced lithography machines, and in fact to practice hegemonism under the pretext of safeguarding national security, ASML naturally sees the face of the United States clearly.
At the same time, they will also weigh the future development prospects of the Chinese market, even if the United States uses various means to disrupt the cooperation between the two sides.
China's determination to develop firmly on the road of science and technology will never waver, and today's breakthrough in EUV photoresist is the best proof of this. 在面对国产芯片断供的问题上，中国再次发力突破技术封锁，摆脱了对美国的依赖。
In the context of globalization, independent innovation is the last word
If we look at the history of the development of science and technology in the 21 st century, we will find how great changes the breakthrough in information technology has brought to the world, and the development trend of multipolarization of computer technology has always been the embodiment of the world trend.
It is precisely because of mutual technical cooperation and exchanges, the internal and external flow of talents, the joint research and development of enterprises, and the benign exchange in the international market that the world's science and technology have not been able to move forward non-stop.
However, there are always some countries that only want to create a monopoly situation in which one country dominates because of their own selfish interests and the successive technological blockade and suppression of other countries for a while.
This kind of "authoritarian" thinking has made many parallel countries miserable, missed many good opportunities for development, and finally fell silent for decades, and had to rely on overseas imports for a long time.
China has long been well versed in the essence of the world's scientific and technological development, and knows that no matter how great the difficulties it faces, it must not give up the path of independent research and development, and cannot give up its determination and perseverance to overcome difficulties.
Therefore, even in the period when science and technology and economy have been completely blocked and encircled, the whole country is united, and high-tech Chinese enterprises have a sense of nationality and family and country, understanding that national interests and security are always higher than individual self-interests.
When the core technology enters the bottleneck period, we will increase R&D investment and improve the ability of independent innovation as soon as possible. If there is a lack in the industrial chain, we will strive to optimize policy support and strengthen cooperation and exchanges with friendly countries.
That is to say, it is through a little bit of exploration and practical research, and by the efforts of countless scientists day and night, that today's scientific and technological achievements have been achieved.
epilogue
In the face of the development situation in the field of chip technology in the world today, we must not only prepare for measures to deal with risks in a planned and methodological manner, but also strive to improve the comprehensive strength of the country.
Because only all-round development and balanced development are long-term solutions, and at the same time, we must humbly recognize our own shortcomings while learning that we have achieved major scientific and technological achievements, and then continue to improve and upgrade.