It is said on the Internet that Huawei will be able to produce its own chips by the end of the year? Huawei itself is not aware of this. . .

Latest update time：2020-08-15

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In the past two days, the news that Huawei is going to carry out the "Tashan Project" has been widely circulated on the Internet.

The plan roughly states that in order to counter the US blockade of Huawei's chip foundry, Huawei has decided to build a 45nm chip production line on its own without US technology, which is expected to be completed this year.

If all goes well, we will also explore the construction of further 28nm chip production lines with several leading domestic chip industries. The list includes almost all domestic chip manufacturers.

Simply put, Huawei plans to learn from Intel and build its own chip production line, which has a bit of the flavor of "mobilizing the whole country" to fight against the US technology blockade.

People from all walks of life are also exaggerating Huawei’s grand plan on social platforms. As long as everyone works together and unites as one, there is no task that cannot be accomplished!

Unfortunately, none of this news is true...

Soon, HiSilicon's internal employees denied the plan and said they had never heard of it.

The blogger who first broke the news also tweeted to admit that this matter was completely false and that everyone should stop believing it based on hearsay. He also deleted the original post.

The bad reviewer thinks that this might be fake news deliberately released by someone with ulterior motives in order to hype up the popularity of semiconductor stocks, thereby pushing up the stock price and making a fortune from "chip difficulties".

From the perspective of this matter itself, it is not very convincing. If you want to develop a mature 45 nm chip production line within a year, you not only need to build a factory and purchase equipment, but also allocate a large amount of R&D funds and professionals.

The key point is that it is really unacceptable that such a big move was not leaked in advance.

However, this fake news is not groundless. Previously, on Huawei's Xinsheng Community Forum, it was revealed that a project code-named "Nanniwan" was recruiting, and the business direction was speculated to be related to chips.

Someone even started a thread hinting at the existence of this project.

Whether it is true or not, we, the spectators, can just listen to it for fun. No specific implementation plan has been revealed for either the Tashan Plan or the Nanniwan Plan.

But it is true that it is hard not to wonder how Huawei will proceed on the path of independent chip manufacturing.

Let us assume that the "Tashan Plan" is true, and Huawei is really strong enough to integrate all domestic semiconductor companies and specialize in chip manufacturing. Is there any way to achieve self-sufficiency in a short period of time?

It's difficult.

Chip manufacturing is never done overnight. From a process perspective, it requires lithography, etching, diffusion, thin film , measurement . None of these steps can be omitted.

The three most core devices are lithography machine, etch machine and thin film deposition equipment.

As we all know, we are stuck in the area of lithography machines. Currently, only a Dutch company called ASML is capable of providing lithography machines for manufacturing high-end chips, with the highest precision reaching 5nm, while domestic lithography machines can only achieve a precision of 90nm.

Etching machine This part is much better. In 2017, SMIC developed a 5nm plasma etcher, which is not only the first domestically produced semiconductor chip equipment, but also the world's first 5nm etcher, and has been put into use.

But you have to know that since its establishment in 2004, it took SMIC 13 years to develop step by step from the initial 65nm to the current 5nm etching.

It is almost nonsense to expect a lithography machine with a more difficult process to advance from 90nm to 45nm within a year.

Moreover, even if Huawei really developed a 45nm chip production line, it would not be able to solve the urgent problem of "chip shortage" for its own products .

For example, Huawei’s latest Kirin 990 chip used in mobile phones uses a 7nm manufacturing process, which can currently only be produced by TSMC, which is controlled by the United States.

As for the 45nm produced, it can only be used as CMOS sensor chips for image processing. It will take at least two years of research and development time to reach the 28nm required for logic circuits (including CPU) .

Lao Yu also said at the China Information Technology Hundred People Conference which just ended that Huawei still has chip inventory for the second half of the year's flagship Mate 40 series. The difficulty lies in next year's P50 series. If suitable chips cannot be found before then, Huawei's flagship phone may really be in trouble.

But things may not be as bad as we imagined. There have been reports in the past two days that Qualcomm is trying to lobby the US government to lift its ban on selling chips to Huawei. If all goes well, Qualcomm will gain access to Huawei's $8 billion chip market.

Next year, Huawei’s P50 may actually use Qualcomm chips.

Huawei’s chip dilemma is a fact, but it is also an opportunity. However, under slogans like the “Tashan Plan ,” everything seems to have changed.

According to a questionnaire conducted by Zhihu netizen @问网汪汪, 82.79% of respondents believed that Huawei will be able to achieve independent and controllable chip manufacturing this year.

We do need this kind of spirit in chip research and development, but at the same time we must also recognize the current situation. Some things cannot be accomplished by just shouting slogans and relying on strength in numbers. They require time-consuming research and development as well as the sedimentation and accumulation of technology to see the light of day.

In 2008, an authoritative academic report pointed out that the key technologies of integrated circuits will undergo revolutionary changes after the 90nm node, especially after 45nm. This plays a key role in the development of the microelectronics industry and is also a weak point in current development.

It is estimated that by 2020, the international level of microelectronics development will reach 14nm, but core technology cannot be bought, we must rely on ourselves to fight for it, otherwise we will easily be strangled.

Being self-reliant can certainly provide you with adequate food and clothing, but you must also recognize the problems you are facing now. Since you are already behind, you can only take it one step at a time. Such high-tech work cannot be rushed.

As for why some people spread rumors, there are too many reasons, but the motive is nothing more than "profit".

It may be the profit in the eyes of speculators.

It could also be the interest of those busybodies who want to gain traffic by stirring up national sentiment.

No matter which one it is, it is either stupid or evil.

We have had scams like the "Hanxin" scam before, and no one can accept something like this happening again.

There will always be bread, but before it can be served on the table, the wheat must be harvested and the flour must ferment. . . . Nothing can be achieved overnight, this is true for bread, and even more so for chips.

We would rather it come later than use an impetuous mentality to fill the gap, which will ultimately harm our own interests.

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