Since TSMC released the "expansion of Nanjing 28nm wafer foundry" wind, the discussion on the Internet about "whether to let go" has never stopped. Xiang Ligang, who is certified as a "communications industry observer", was one of the first to raise objections, arguing that "TSMC's expansion plan will squeeze the living space of manufacturers such as SMIC." A stone stirs up thousands of waves, some people highly agree, and many people write long articles criticizing Xiang Ligang's views. The two sides have their own opinions, no one obeys the other, the issues discussed are becoming more and more detailed, and more and more people are joining the discussion.
Mock screenshots
In this way, the time came to June 21, and Xinzhiyuan broke the news that "TSMC's Nanjing expansion was stopped by a third party." On the same day, Xiang Ligang, who held an opposing opinion, also stated that "TSMC is not yet able to achieve technological autonomy, which shows that we should rely on ourselves." As a result, netizens did not buy it, and joked in the comment area that "now there is no need to fight, friends who oppose the Nanjing expansion plan, you have won." The implication is that the opponent's behavior has said it all, and TSMC's expansion of the 28nm foundry is more in our interest.
Xiang Ligang made a statement
At first glance, it seems that this is indeed the case, and the expert Xiang Ligang has just been "punched in the face". However, in fact, these two things are unrelated, and the strange Xiang Ligang is even more unreasonable. First of all, we may as well assume that Xiang Ligang's view is wrong, and the person who is calling for the suspension of the expansion is a third party, can Xiang Ligang influence the third party's view? The answer is obvious, and the word "weird" doesn't hold. In fact, even if TSMC issued an announcement that it would not do it, the author would not think it was related to this commentator. What jokes, tens of billions of business investments, a few comments can not stand?
TSMC
Second, since the third party has enough independent thinking ability, can we think that we should support it because the opponent is opposed? The answer is no. Different positions will have different considerations, and it is not necessary to react in the same way. In the eyes of third parties, the main contradiction is that TSMC intends to level a bowl of water and must be nipped from the bud. In Xiang Ligang's eyes, TSMC's 28nm process belongs to our existing technology and should be vigilant. Since everyone thinks about different things, how can we say that Xiang Ligang's view is wrong?
Intel
Finally, regardless of whether Xiang Ligang's views are correct or not, the author does not deny or question the positive significance brought about by it. If you think about it, Intel stopped at 14nm, why is the most popular, but TSMC's 5nm factory? The reason is that because TSMC's factory construction has two sides, third parties need to measure their own risks and benefits. The density of transistors is determined by the transistor spacing (5nm) and the size of the transistors. In Intel's plan, the transistor density of the 7nm process chip can reach 237 million per square millimeter, far exceeding TSMC's 5nm level.
SMIC
This means that if TSMC brings not 5nm, then the talents they cultivate will not have much value to Intel. It is better to work on your own, make more money, and slowly develop. Pushing back the 14nm yield rate has been in line with TSMC's SMIC, the same is true. Therefore, even from the perspective of "TSMC shows goodwill" and looks at the Nanjing expansion plan, TSMC is still a bowl of water. In this case, we need to react. Xiang Ligang's objection has the positive significance of making TSMC think about whether it should bet heavily.
Xiang Ligang
Summary: In the face of TSMC's Nanjing expansion plan, we must be vigilant against our "gentleman's heart with the belly of a villain", nor can we "blindly go up the terrain and be poor and generous". In the "White Paper on Talents in China's Integrated Circuit Industry (2019-2020)", it is clearly written that we ourselves are short of people. As of the end of 2019, there were only 511,900 employees, an increase of 11.4% year-on-year. However, the official estimate is that in 2022, the demand will reach 744,000 people. TSMC is coming, and of course we welcome it. Advanced technology is limited by equipment and materials, we also understand, but the reason must always be clear. (Li Shuangxi)