U.S. Prohibits Receivers of CHIPS Subsidies to Build New Capacity in China
Now that the US Senate has passed the Chips and Science Semiconductor Production Subsidy Bill, it could be passed by the House of Representatives and signed by the President in just a few days. Federal subsidies and other incentives. However, while all producers of chips building new fabs are eligible to obtain them, there are certain conditions that they must meet.
As it turned out Chips and scientific law textsCompanies receiving federal incentive funds are prohibited from expanding or building “new manufacturing capacity for certain advanced semiconductors in certain countries that pose a national security threat to the United States.”
The bill does not clarify the manufacturing node it refers to, but there are four Countries that U.S. intelligence agencies consider to be a threat To national security: China, Iran, North Korea, Russia. Keeping in mind that no multinational chipmaker has fabs in Iran, North Korea or Russia, legislators do not want chip fund recipients to expand or build new semiconductor manufacturing capabilities in China. it is clear. For precise nodes, technology beyond 14nm / 16nm is advanced, given that the U.S. Department of Commerce is considering the possibility of stopping production of chips using FinFET-based 14nm-class nodes at SMIC. It is considered.
Currently, GlobalFoundries, Intel, Samsung Foundry, TSMC and Texas Instruments are building new fabs or expanding existing capacity in the United States and are receiving financial grants and incentives from the federal government as long as they meet the requirements. Are eligible to receive. .. Micron said last year it was considering establishing a new R & D facility in the United States and building a fab in the United States as part of that. $ 150 billion in R & D and capital investment Plan for the next 10 years.
Two companies, TSMC and Samsung, are building new semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the United States and happen to own fabs in China.
Last month, TSMC announced plans to expand Fab 14 in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. TSMC’s Fab14 manufactures chips using various special manufacturing processes derived from TSMC’s N28 and N28, but it is unclear whether 28nm class nodes are considered “advanced” by this law.
Samsung Semiconductor (technically not Samsung Foundry) manufactures 3D NAND and DRAM memory in Xian, China, and is constantly reviewing the capacities and nodes used in Chinese fabs based on demand. Samsung has not announced a significant expansion of the Xi’An Fab, but to remain competitive, it will need to adopt a new manufacturing process, which can impact the productivity of the facility. Meanwhile, it’s unclear whether US MPs will see DRAM and NAND technology as “advanced” and the adoption of new nodes as “extended.”