[News] Huawei Mate 60’s Kirin 9000s: SMIC Production, Old Tech or US Restriction Break?

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According to a report by Taiwan’s TechNews, the Huawei Kirin 9000S mobile processor, dubbed by Chinese media as “4G technology with 5G speed,” was incorporated into the Huawei Mate 60 Pro smartphone on the 29th. The phone was made available for purchase directly without a launch event or prior promotion, priced at 6,999 Chinese Yuan, sparking significant industry discussion.

The discussion around the Huawei Kirin 9000S mobile processor stems from the fact that, for the first time post the US-China trade war, a chip foundry has manufactured chips for Huawei, featuring an advanced 5-nanometer process. Does this signify a breakthrough for Chinese chip production amidst US restrictions and a leap forward in China’s semiconductor industry? At present, the answer seems to be negative.

According to insiders’ revelations, the Mate 60 Pro’s Kirin 9000S chip was manufactured by SMIC. However, key production aspects are still under US control, making breaking through these limitations quite challenging.

Screenshots shared by users indicate that Kirin is on a 5nm process. Nonetheless, technical experts widely believe that the 9000S isn’t on a 5nm process; rather, it’s on SMIC’s N+2 process.

Source: fin

SMIC is the only Chinese enterprise capable of mass-producing 14-nanometer FinFET technology. Both N+1 and N+2 processes are improvements based on the 14nm FinFET technology and are achieved through DUV lithography, bypassing US restrictions. (The most advanced processes currently require EUV lithography machines.)

SMIC has not openly stated that N+1 and N+2 are on the 7nm process. However, the chip industry generally considers N+1 to be equivalent to 7nm LPE (Low Power) technology, and N+2 to be equivalent to 7nm LPP (High Performance) technology. The shipment of the Mate 60 Pro seems to have openly revealed information about SMIC’s N+2 process reaching maturity and entering mass production.

(Photo credit: Huawei)