As China's semiconductor equipment export restrictions from the United States have blocked the import of ASML extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment, essential for implementing fine processes below 7nm (nanometers, one-billionth of a meter), Huawei is reported to be focusing on securing advanced packaging technology as a way to overcome this challenge. Huawei is analyzing its efforts to enhance the capabilities of advanced packaging technology "chiplets" that integrate individual chips while preparing for the launch of the next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) Ascend 910D series.
According to industry sources on the 18th, it is said that Huawei's proprietary chiplet technology will be applied in the manufacturing of the latest AI chip Ascend 910D. Recently, Huawei announced patents related to chiplet technology capable of integrating up to four individual chips into a single system. A semiconductor industry official noted, "Huawei has recently disclosed patents related to chiplet technology and is working on a technology to overcome the miniaturization limits," explaining, "This is to secure proprietary technology that can develop high-performance AI chips amid escalating U.S. regulations."
Huawei's self-developed advanced packaging chiplet technology is evaluated as an alternative to overcome the limits of advanced processes in the foundry (contract semiconductor manufacturing) and packaging industries. This technology separates functions into several small chips instead of creating a semiconductor with all functionalities integrated onto a single chip, and then reassembles them to form a single system. It allows for the assembly of chips like LEGO blocks to implement diverse functionalities, and enhances performance such as power efficiency without applying fine processes.
China is unable to import semiconductor equipment used in advanced processes such as EUV due to U.S. semiconductor industry regulations. In response, Huawei is making every effort to explore alternatives with China's largest foundry company, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), to develop its own chips. While producing AI chips at 7nm or below through the previous generation of deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography equipment, issues such as yield and performance defects are hindered.
Huawei is expected to maximize performance by applying advanced chiplet technology to future AI chips such as the Ascend 910D. Having already released the Ascend 910B and 910C to the market, Huawei is reported to have begun performance validation for samples of the Ascend 910D. Unlike previous generation products that did not significantly compete with global AI semiconductor corporations such as NVIDIA, the Ascend 910D is analyzed to be at a level where some performance indicators can be compared to NVIDIA's AI semiconductors that have been launched in the market.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) anticipates that the upcoming Ascend 910D will have stronger performance than NVIDIA's flagship AI semiconductor, the "H100," stating, "The first samples are expected to ship in the first half of this year." Regarding the previous generation Ascend 910C, market research firm SEMIAnalytics revealed that the performance is at one-third the level when compared to NVIDIA's latest AI chip Blackwell platform.