Catching up on some of the latest news after a summer break, two significant updates concern EDA as the subject of geopolitical tensions between China and the Western countries. More news in this week’s article includes new fab and packaging plant announcements – some of which spurred by the recently passed U.S. ‘CHIPS and Science Act’ – as well as updates concerning the processor market.

U.S. export controls on EDA tools for GAA transistor design

On August 12 the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security issued a rule that establishes new export controls on four “emerging and foundational technologies” that are considered essential to the national security of the United States. Among them, two substrates of ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors – gallium oxide (Ga₂O₃) and diamond – and electronic CAD software specially designed for the development of integrated circuits with Gate-All Around Field-Effect Transistor structure.

Ban on GAA design tools a potential problem for China, says TrendForce

According to market research firm TrendForce, this new U.S. EDA software ban may actually affect China’s advanced IC design. The analysts observe that the three major U.S. EDA players (Synopsys, Cadence, and Siemens) account for a total 75% market share, and that Empyrean Technology – the leader of China’s EDA industry – has not yet touched upon GAA research and development. TrendForce also notes that even if China purchased a large amount of authorized EDA software before the current sanction takes effect, the United States could block its use by remotely denying license updates. In conclusion, according to TrendForce, without U.S. EDA tools, Chinese IC design – as well as Chinese foundries – will experience difficulties developing advanced 3-nanometer process design.

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Catching up on some of the news from the last thirty days or so, several updates obviously concern U.S.-China tensions. As far as the semiconductor industry is concerned, news includes additional export restriction being considered by the U.S Government to halt China’s advances in semiconductor manufacturing, but the intricacies of a globalized ecosystem may cause side effects. According to analysts quoted by Reuters, export restrictions could also impact China-based memory fabs belonging to South Korean manufacturers such as Samsung and SK Hynix. A similar impact could be caused by export restrictions on European semiconductor equipment: for example – according to Reuters – the export ban has prevented SK Hynix from installing ASML’s EUV lithography equipment in its DRAM fab in Wuxi, China. Meanwhile, China’s IC sales keep increasing: according to market analysis firm TrendForce, the growth rate was 17% in 2020, 18.2% in 2021 and it is expected to be 11.21% in 2022.

Fab and foundry updates: SkyWater, Micron, ST-GlobalFoundries, IFS-MediaTek, Intel-TSMC

Also related to geopolitical tensions is the recent passing of the U.S. ‘Chips and Science Act’. Some companies have already announced their intentions to leverage this public funding measure: among them, U.S. foundry SkyWater plans to build a $1.8 billion semiconductor R&D and production facility in Indiana through a public-private partnership with the State and Purdue University; and U.S. memory maker Micron Technology intends to invest “in bringing the most innovative leading-edge memory manufacturing to the U.S.” More details regarding Micron’s plans are expected in the coming weeks.

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