chips

After triumphing with its chips for AI, Nvidia has set another disruptive technology: quantum computers

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Nvidia’s bet for Quantum computers It is less and less shy. Jensen Huang, the co -founder and general director of this company, has announced A few hours ago at its annual developer conference that will open a laboratory expressly dedicated to Quantum computing research. It will be housed in Boston (Massachusetts) and will allow NVIDIA engineers to work side by side with the researchers at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Technology Institute (MIT). It will begin operating at the end of 2025. This strategic movement puts on the table with absolute clarity that Huang does not want to stay out of technology that will presumably cause a medium -term disruption. The most curious thing is that before formalizing the implementation of its new quantum technologies development laboratory, this executive has not let out the opportunity to retract. At the beginning of last January A few statements They caused a very abrupt fall of the actions of some of the companies that are dedicated to the development of quantum computers. “If you said 15 years you would probably be optimistic. And if you said 30 you would be pessimistic. But if you opt for 20 years I think many of us would believe it,” Jensen Huang argued At that time. With this reflection I tried to predict when the really useful quantum machines will be ready, and, therefore, capable of dealing with a very wide range of problems. But he has changed his mind. Just two and a half months later seems to be convinced that fully functional quantum computers will be ready much earlier. With the correction of errors of quantum computers in the spotlight Nvidia flirting with quantum computers is not really new. And is that He has been collaborating for more than two years With the Israeli company Quantum Machines. This company specialized in the development of hardware and software for quantum machines, and has been ready with NVIDIA a low -performance and high performance architecture that seeks to promote the progress of quantum computing. DGX quantum seeks to help researchers who work in the field of quantum computing to develop new quantum algorithms NVIDIA has contributed its CPU/GPU grace hopper system, a beast that is designed to execute applications of artificial intelligence and offer productivity at high performance computer scenarios, and also its open source programming model CUDA QUANTUM. His partner in this project, Quantum Machines, has been in charge of the integration and set -up of a quantum platform that, according to these two companies, is specifically designed to work in hybrid systems in which classical hardware and quantum coexist in harmony. The purpose of the DGX Quantum platform, which is what is called the hardware that these two companies have developed, is to help researchers who work in the field of quantum computing to develop new quantum algorithms. It may seem surprising that it is possible to use classic hardware to develop quantum algorithms, but it is something perfectly viable. In fact, this strategy helps to put quantum computing within the reach of many more researchers who can implement and test their ideas without having access to a quantum computer prototype. However, the DGX quantum platform also serves, according to NVIDIA, to calibrate quantum systems, control them, and even aspires to have a prominent role in the tuning of a correction system that allows quantum computers amend your own mistakes. Jensen Huang emphasized this idea during his GTC 2023 conference, and there is no doubt that It is a very attractive possibility. Extraordinarily attractive. And is that, As Ignacio Cirac explained to us In the conversation we had with him, the correction of errors will give us the opportunity to solve with quantum computers really significant problems. Image | Nvidia More information | Reuters | SCMP In Xataka | Quantum computers find it impossible to do nothing. It is a mystery that has scientists on alert

Within the most advanced chips manufacturing machines there is something incredible: small supernovae

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Identifying a Supernova is an event that astronomers usually celebrate with enthusiasm. And it is not for less if we consider that they are One of the most violent events with which we can run into the cosmos. Knowing them better is very important because it can help us understand more precision How are the latest stages of The life of mass starsand also the mechanisms that explain how the material caused by stellar synthesis can lead to new star systems. The mathematical tools handled by astrophysics current nuclear fusion that take place in the nucleus of mass stars. During the stage known as the main sequence, stars obtain their energy from the fusion of hydrogen nuclei. As this chemical element is consumed, the star begins to produce helium nuclei, and, of course, its composition begins to evolve. During this process a huge amount of energy is released and the star is forced to continuously readjust to maintain hydrostatic balance, a phenomenon that is the result of the coexistence of two opposite forces capable of compensating. One of them is the gravitational contraction, which compresses the subject of the star, pressing it without rest. And the other is the radiation and gase pressure, which is the fruit of the ignition of the nuclear oven and tries to expand the star. The small supernovae of the extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment As we have anticipated from the holder, this article does not go only from Supernovas; It is also starred by the semiconductors. A priori we can intuit that these cosmic events and integrated circuits have nothing to do, but, curiously, they do have something in common. This is the reason why I found a good idea to start this text reviewing what a supernova is and why they occur. Otherwise we could not understand in all its extension the idea in which we are about to investigate. The ultraviolet radiation generation process used by UVE lithography equipment is very similar to what happens during a Supernova In the teams of extreme ultraviolet lithography (UVE) that manufactures the Dutch company ASML, high power lasers instantly heat tens of thousands of tiny tin drops in a single second until they reach a temperature of half a million Celsius degrees. This interaction produces An extremely hot plasma that emits ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 13.5 nm. This light must later be transported to the wafer thanks to a very precise mirrors and lenses system with the purpose of capturing the patterns that define the integrated circuits on a layer of photorers. Very broadly this is the strategy used by the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing machines that currently exist. And, as we have just seen, high -power lasers interpret an unquestionably protagonist role. As Jays Stewart, Chief of Research at ASML, explains in the very interesting article he has published in IEEE Spectrumthe ultraviolet radiation generation process used by UVE lithography equipment to produce avant -garde chips is very similar to what happens during a supernova. When a massive star exhausts its fuel and stops nuclear fusion processes, radiation pressure and gases is no longer able to counteract gravitational contraction. This phenomenon causes the star iron core It suddenly contracts under the enormous pressure that all layers of material that it has above. The star has lost the hydrostatic balance. At this moment all this matter loses the support that the nucleus exercised, which is now much more compact, and falls on it with enormous speed. When all that star material touches the surface of the nucleus there is a rebound effect that causes it to be fired with a huge energy towards the stellar medium, being disseminated. A supernova has just been produced. Some of them are so energetic that for a few seconds they emit more light than the entire galaxy that contains them. The tiny explosions that take place inside the UVE lithography equipment when a laser affects a tin drop produce a shock wave similar to that originating in the stellar medium, although much smaller scale. Surprisingly the mathematical equations that describe the evolution of these two types of explosions are the same. ASML engineers use them to calculate very precisely how the evolution of the shock wave that triggers plasma balls within the UVE equipment will be. And astrophysicians use them to describe the remains of the supernovas and deduce the properties of the star explosion that originated them. A Supernova has 10⁴⁵ times more energy That an explosion of tin, but thanks to this parallel, ASML engineers have been able to solve the complex problem derived from tin residues inside their most advanced lithography equipment. Image | ASML More information | IEEE Spectrum In Xataka | ‘Focus: The Asml Way’: The book that reveals the secrets of the most powerful European company in the chips industry

The book that reveals the secrets of the most powerful European company in the chips industry

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The portrait of ASML proposed by Dutch journalist Marc Hijink in the book ‘Focus: The Asml Way’ It is extremely thorough. This Company of the Netherlands leads the manufacturing industry of photolithography teams that are necessary to produce integrated avant -garde circuits. In addition, in the short term it is very unlikely that another company will be able to compete with it from you to you. At least if we stick to extreme ultraviolet machines (UVE) that are used to make the most advanced chips. ASML was founded in 1984 by Philips and also the Dutch International (Advanced material semiconductor). The purpose of this alliance was to take advantage of the long experience of Philips in the tuning of optical equipment and lithography machines, and the knowledge of ASM in the field of integrated circuit manufacturing processes, to design and manufacture avant -garde photolithographic equipment. Today ASML holds an “invisible monopoly”as Hijink holds in his essay. The road to the UVE photolithography team has been long and tortuous This book seems to me a highly recommended work for any reader interested in technology in general. And essential for those who want to know better the semiconductor industry and scrutinize it through the eyes of the European company linked to this most relevant market. The chapters that Marc Hijink dedicates to the prolegomena that gave rise to THE CONSTITUTION OF ASML They are very interesting, but my favorites are all those in which the enormous complexity of avant -garde photolithography machines explores. Intel invested in 2012 no less than 4,000 million dollars to help Asml to finance the development of its UVE lithography team This company is where it is thanks to its UVE lithography machines. And the path that has taken him to them has not been at all a path of roses. In fact, Canon and Nikon, their natural competitors, they also tried to develop these chips production equipment, but They failed in the attempt due to the enormous technical and economic resources that implied its tuning. ASML It took more than two decades to have a fully functional UVE lithography machine ready, and had the economic and technological support of its best customers. Intel invested in 2012 no less than 4,000 million dollars To help you finance the development of this chips manufacturing machine. TSMC and Samsung also economically supported this company of the Netherlands during this project. And the play did well. In fact, these are the three companies that currently have ASML UVE lithography teams. The tuning of this lithographic team has given this Dutch Company the mastery of the manufacture of high integration semiconductors. In some moments the text of Hijink adopts a tone more similar to that of a black novel than that of an essay dedicated to technology. And it is reasonable for a reason: A ASML is currently subject to a lot of pressure by US governments and the Netherlands. The sanctions that have deployed both in recent years prevent this company sell your most advanced equipment to your Chinese customersand Marc Hijink explores the geopolitical plot in which ASML has been involved with the rigor that deserves a situation whose end is not yet evident. For now ‘Focus: The Asml Way’ It is only available in English, but you read effortlessly if you are minimally familiar with this language. Highly recommended. * Some price may have changed from the last review BIBLIOGRAPHY | ‘Focus: The Asml Way’by Marc Hijink In Xataka | 2024 has been a year full of uncertainty for chip designers. So much that the market has changed leader

Europe wants to lead chips research of less than 2 nm. ASML is the cornerstone of your plan

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None of The main semiconductor manufacturers The planet is European. TSMC, the company that leads this industry, is from Taiwan. Samsung and Sk Hynix are South Korean. Intel and Micron Technology are Americans. AND SMIC is China. This panorama invites us to accept that Europe has lost the train of the production of integrated circuits, but, in reality, it is not so. At least not at all. And it is that the old continent has ASMLthe Dutch company that leads the design and manufacture of photolithography equipment that is necessary to produce avant -garde semiconductors. And it also has IMEC, an integrated circuit research center founded in 1984 and housed in Leuven (Belgium). It is the most experienced laboratory in the tuning of new integration technologies that we have in Europe. IMEC and ASML work side by side to go beyond the 2 nm Europe does not have the expertise of the US, China, Japan or South Korea when it comes to the industry that develops in its laboratories. In what remains a global power is in border investigation. If we look beyond the semiconductors and look, for example, in Quantum computerswe will verify that the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics housed in Garching (Germany) and the Quantum Computing Center of Delft (Netherlands) are two leading institutions in the research in quantum computing. Europe seeks to develop the necessary integration technologies to produce semiconductors beyond the 2 Nm barrier IMEC has that same prestige, but in the field of innovation in integrated circuits. This is the reason why in May 2024 The European Union decided deliver a subsidy 2.5 billion euros To put a pilot line that will allow the manufacture of avant -garde semiconductors. This subsidy will be part of the ‘Chips Act’ program and has a very specific purpose: to develop integration technologies that are necessary to produce semiconductors Beyond the 2 Nm barrier. This is, in short, the European plan. And it is that IMEC intends to put its technology in the hands of European companies that are dedicated to automotive, telecommunications or the manufacture of medical devices, among other sectors. Diversification can play in your favor because it will contribute to developing the European technological ecosystem on a large scale. However, this research center is not addressing this project alone; He is working side by side with ASML. In fact, this company of the Netherlands has a crucial role in this plan. And he has it because he will deliver to IMEC the photolithography teams that his researchers need to bring to fruition the production of integrated circuits of less than 2 nm. ASML will install in this laboratory even your machine extreme ultraviolet (UVE) and haute openingwhich is the most advanced semiconductor production team it currently has. In fact, the technology of this machine is the only one that is capable of take us beyond the 2 nm. One more note to conclude: the collaboration of IMEC and ASML also seeks to develop integration technologies for DRAM chips, the Fotonic silicon and advanced packaging techniques of integrated circuits. Image | IMEC More information | IMEC In Xataka | China prepares the mate to the US: it will have its own UVE lithography team to make chips in 2025

You will have your own UVE lithography team to make chips in 2025

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We did not expect this. Neither we nor a good part of SEMICONDUCTOR EXPERTS that have been wet both and within China. And there are solid clues that argue that Huawei is already testing at its Dongguan facilities, in the province of Canton, the first team of extreme ultraviolet photolithography (UVE) Designed and manufactured entirely in China. The filtered photography that we publish a little lower in this article corroborates it. The leaks They assure That unlike the UVE machines produced by the Dutch company ASML, this Chinese lithography equipment uses an LDP ultraviolet light source (laser induced discharge), and not LPP class (plasma generated by laser). Presumably the development of this source of ultraviolet radiation emission is the milestone that has allowed Chinese engineers to develop a machine that Many experts did not see possible before five years in the best case. At the moment the most prudent is that we take this information with caution, but it seems solid enough to echo it. An interesting note is that on paper the LDP source is able to generate UVE light with a wavelength of 13.5 nm, so this Chinese prototype should be able to compete from you to you with ASML UVE photolithography machines. In addition, the leaks argue that China will begin the production of more test machines during the third quarter of this year with the purpose of launching the large -scale manufacture of these equipment during 2026. Why are the UVE photolithography teams so important to China The sanctions of USA and its allies They prevent ASML from giving their Chinese clients their most sophisticated integrated circuit manufacturing equipment. Its UVE machines belong to this category. The Chinese companies Huawei and SMIC have managed to produce 7 Nm chips using the deep ultraviolet lithography machines (UVP) of ASML that they have in their possession, but to make it possible they have had to resort to a technique known as Multiple patterning. The ‘multiple patterning’ perceptibly expensive chips and lies the production capacity This technique in broad strokes consists in transferring the pattern to the wafer in several passes with the purpose of increasing the resolution of the lithographic process. It works, but it has two big problems: it perceptibly expensive the chips and Merms production capacity. In addition, presumably will not allow to go beyond 5 Nm. Chinese manufacturers of integrated circuits have turned with mature chips production To sustain your business, but this strategy will not allow China to compete on equal terms with the US and its allies. An important note: mature semiconductors usually occur in nodes of 28 nm or less advanced, and are used in appliances, cars and electronic consumption devices. China needs to produce 3 NM chips or with even more advanced integration technologies to acquire the ability to develop semiconductors comparable to the most sophisticated that are currently manufacturing TSMC, Intel, Samsung or SK Hynix. The competitiveness of Huawei, SMIC and other companies is at stake. If this information is finally confirmed and China has its Commercial UVE machines in 2026, it will have taken a crucial step in its pulse with the US. Even so, Asml will continue to have The best lithography teams: The machines Haute Opening UVE that Intel is already testing, and that with all probability will soon verify TSMC and Samsung. Image | ASML More information | WCCFTECH In Xataka | TSMC acknowledges that it has been considered taking its factories out of Taiwan. It is impossible for a good reason

TSMC is willing to take control of Intel chips factories. What you don’t want is to do it alone

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The administration led by Donald Trump has asked TSMC to help rescue intel semiconductor factories. This is at least what media support almost always as well informed as Reuters either SCMP. If so, This initiative of the US government It changes everything. If the Trump administration did not agree with this strategy, its viability would be very small, but its support invites us to take this possibility very seriously. According to these TSMC media, it is preparing a proposal that will present both Intel and the US government to take control of Integrated circuit production plants of this American company. However, this Taiwanese chips manufacturer does not want to face this solo challenge; He prefers to do it with other companies that presumably also interested in participating in the management of Intel factories. According to the sources of ReutersTSMC managers are talking to their Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom and Qualcomm counterparts with the purpose of constituting a joint company that is responsible for plant management. TSMC would not have a participation in any case greater than 50% in this Joint Venture. At the moment there has been no official confirmation that supports these negotiations, but at the current situation this information is very credible. In any case, this plan will not come to fruition if it does not have the approval of the Donald Trump government. Some Intel relevant employees want to keep control of factories Ben Sell, Vice President of Intel Technology Development, confirmed At the end of last September that the 18A node already has the maturity necessary to enter large -scale production in 2025. and also assured that it will benefit from the resources that have been reallocated since the 20A node. In the current scenario the 18A node will be the true protagonist. In fact, and this is really important, Intel has confirmed which will receive a maximum of 3,000 million dollars within the framework of the ‘Chips and Science Act’ program to manufacture semiconductors for the US government in a reliable way. Lithography 18a is the best opportunity that Intel has to resume direction and improve its competitiveness The name of this plan, “Safe Enclave”, reflects one of the requirements required by the Administration: Chips must occur in the strictest confidentiality. And, as we can intuit, these integrated circuits They will be manufactured in the 18A node. This integration technology is definitely the best opportunity that Intel has to resume course and improve its competitiveness. In fact, voices are being raised within the company itself that demand a little patience to give this node the opportunity to place Intel on the path of recovery. This statement by Joseph Bonetti, main manager of Intel engineering programs, expresses this vision very well: “Intel leaders, Board of Directors of Intel and Donald Trump administration, please do not sell or give the control of Intel Foundry to TSMC just when Intel is taking the technological front and starting to take off. It would be a terrible and demoralizing error.” Bonetti also maintains that Intel is not lagging for its competitors, and that the advances that their engineers are achieving in the field of chips production are very important. At the current situation there is no doubt that the 18A integration technology is the best Intel asset to recover health, but it is important that we do not overlook that its technicians have been calibrating more than a year and adjusting their first teams of lithography of extreme ultraviolet (UVE) and haute opening manufactured by ASML. Intel has them in its Hillsboro (USA) plant. The first tests with this machine presumably They made them at the end of 2024and in 2025 the preliminary tests that pursue to manufacture integrated circuits in the 14A node will begin. It sounds exciting. We will follow the track to this machine very closely to keep you aware of all progress. Image | Intel More information | Reuters | SCMP In Xataka | Bill Gates has radiographed Intel. And his diagnosis is overwhelmingly accurate

It is manufacturing AI chips for Huawei despite the sanctions, according to the United States

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TSMC’s headaches have not finished. The US government definitely included Huawei in its blacklist in 2020, and one of the immediate consequences of this decision was that this Taiwan chips manufacturer stopped producing semiconductors For this Chinese company. Two years later, in October 2022, the US administration decided to include All the Chinese semiconductor industry In his blacklist, which further cut the TSMC client portfolio. Anyway, for Huawei, it has all the meaning of the world to try to make TSMC manufacture some of the integrated circuits you design. This Chinese company is supported In this area by SMICwhich is the main producer of semiconductors in China, but its most advanced integration technologies are not up to TSMC avant -garde lithographs. And not having access to the most advanced lithographic nodes diminishes Huawei’s competitiveness. At the end of October 2024 the US Department of Commerce decided to investigate TSMC because he suspected that this gigantic Taiwanese company could have secretly reached agreements with Huawei to take care of the manufacture of its semiconductors for smartphones and applications of artificial intelligence (AI). At the current situation of tension between the US and China this accusation is very serious. Fortunately for TSMC everything was clarified a few months later. Another disturbing chapter in the relationship held TSMC and Huawei In December 2024 TSMC broke its commercial relationship With Powerair, a Singapore company that, apparently, was responsible for delivering the chip manufactured by TSMC that appeared on the card for the Ascend 910b. Interestingly, this was the second company presumably responsible for reaching Huawei integrated circuits produced by TSMC. In 2023 this last company stopped offering its manufacturing service to the Chinese Chips Design Company Sophgo to illegally mediate with Huawei. The CSIS accuses TSMC of having manufactured for Huawei no less than two million chips from AInd 910 Now is the CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies), an American organization that is dedicated to developing strategies that seek to guarantee the security of the US, which accuses TSMC in A freshly published report having made indirectly for Huawei for 2024 no less than Two million Ascend 910 chips. With these integrated circuits this Chinese company can produce a huge number of units of its ascend 910c solution, which is currently its hardware for the most advanced. The most interesting thing is that The CSIS holds that Huawei has once again resorted to “ghost” companies that act as intermediaries between her and TSMC. However, the author of the report does not exculpate the Taiwanese company: “TSMC manufactured large amounts of Ascend 910b of Huawei in the name of ghost companies and sent them to China, thus violating US export controls.” We will see how all this ends, but it does not paint well for a TSMC that has just embarked into an ambitious strategy of expansion of its production infrastructure within the country currently led by Donald Trump. Image | TSMC More information | Center for Strategic and International Studies In Xataka | TSMC does not contemplate the possibility of buying Intel factories. And their motives have a crushing logic

Sooner or later China will be the world chips leader

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At the moment nothing indicates that Donald Trump’s arrival at the White House will relax the tension held by the US and China. The strategy of the new US government on many fronts is very different from the one defended by the administration of Joe Biden (The Ukraine War is one of them), but in what It refers to China a priori nothing changes. And does not do so because the nation led by Xi Jinping is the only one that has the ability to play world supremacy to the USA. In fact, the government led by Joe Biden openly recognized the document that collects its National Security Strategy October 2022 that China has the necessary capacity and resources to dispute the US Its world leadership position. A good part of the sanctions deployed by the US government and its allies seeks to slow down the development of the Chinese semiconductor industry due to the deep impact that it has on its scientific, economic and military capacity. But China bids increasingly. China leads chips research with overwhelming roundness Currently the biggest challenge facing the China semiconductor industry is the set -up equipment of extreme ultraviolet lithography (UVE) similar to those produced by the Dutch company ASML. The US and Netherlands sanctions prevent this company from selling them to their Chinese customers, and these equipment are necessary to produce on a large scale and with a competitive cost integrated avant -garde circuits. In 2023 the Chinese government approved a 41,000 million dollar game for lithography equipment manufacturers In this situation, the only way China can follow is to dedicate a lot of resources to research with the purpose of matching, or even exceeding the level of development they have achieved in the field of Taiwan semiconductors, USA, South Korea or Japan. And is doing it. At the beginning of September 2023 the Chinese government approved a departure of no less than 41,000 million dollars Destined precisely to the companies that produce the equipment involved in the manufacture of integrated circuits. The achievements are already arriving, and are notable. SMIC and HUAWEI have opted, at least for now, for refining their lithographic processes and optimizing UVP lithography machines (deep ultraviolet) manufactured by ASML that they already have in their possession. Other companies, however, have chosen to develop their integration technologies relying on the new teams that Naura Technology, Amec (Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China) or Piotech Inc. have taken to point. This is the path that You are following Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC), the largest memory chips manufacturer in China. However, China’s authentic strength is its ability to develop avant -garde research. He Emerging Technological Observatory (ETO), which is an international organization specialized in the analysis of the adoption of emerging technologies globally, points out that Between 2018 and 2023 475,000 articles were published dedicated to the design and manufacture of chips throughout the planet. 34% was produced by Chinese institutions, while Europe is formed with 18% of those articles and the US with an even more modest 15%. In addition, again according to Eto, Chinese articles are among the most mentioned, which supports their quality. This trend draws a future on the horizon in which China’s weight in the semiconductor industry will be increasing. Image | ASML More information | Eto In Xataka | China needs to develop a new type of immune chips to US sanctions. And their scientists have just achieved it

Problems between US and Taiwan governments begin. And the chips industry is at the center of everything

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The government led by Donald Trump is determined to do everything necessary for the US to recover leadership in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. At the moment In Asia they are manufactured 90% of memory chips, 75% of microprocessors and 80% of silicon wafers. However, the most outstanding country in this continent in this sector is Taiwan, with a production of 90% of high integration chips and 41% of microprocessors. The US administration is already taking the necessary measures to promote US companies to buy integrated circuits manufactured in the US. The tariffs you are approving They largely pursue this objective, and, despite the alignment in the geopolitical field that support the US and Taiwan, the manufacturers of Taiwanese chips are not at all safe from the tariffs. In fact, Donald Trump made a statement at the end of January which he exposes his intentions with total: “In the very close future we will impose tariffs on foreign production of computer chips, semiconductors and pharmaceutical products to return the manufacture of these essential goods to the US (…) went to Taiwan; now we want them to return. We do not want to give them billions of dollars in the ridiculous driver program. They already have billions of dollars. incentive will be that they do not want to pay a tax of 25, 50, or even 100%”, The current US president declared. The Taiwan government is putting limits to TSMC The express mention to Taiwan that the US president has made is a very clear allusion to TSMC. On this Asian island there are other semiconductor manufacturers, such as UMC, but its relevance in the chip market is much lower than that of the company currently leading CC Wei. TSMC dominates the integrated circuit market with A quota of approximately 60%so your leadership in the chip manufacturing industry is indisputable. Anyway, the step forward that the US administration is not going to take TSMC by surprise. This company has been outlining its strategy for more than four years to extend its semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure Beyond Taiwan’s borders. And he is doing it for two reasons. On the one hand it is an effective way to protect your business if at any time it is triggered A war conflict between China and Taiwanand their plants on the island were useless. TSMC is preparing an offer to control the integrated circuit manufacturing plants of Intel But, in addition, TSMC is significantly developing its infrastructure in the US. His plan is that their new Arizona factories not only serve to protect their business from a possible conflict between China and Taiwan; They also protect it from US tariffs. This is not all. Although there has not yet an official confirmation of this information, according to The Wall Street Journal TSMC is preparing an offer to Control manufacturing plants Intel integrated circuits. It prosper or not, at the current situation this strategic decision makes sense. And it has it because it would allow TSMC to definitely consolidate its semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure in the US, as well as be present in countries where it now does not have production plants. However, The Taiwan government does not see this possibility with good eyes. Its economy depends deeply on its chip industry in general, and TSMC in particular, so the US ambition to recover its leadership in this sector directly enters into conflict directly with Taiwan’s survival as it is currently. Kuo Jyh-Huei, Taiwan Economy Minister, has warned TSMC in a resounding way: “No one can shake the foundations of the Taiwan semiconductor industry. We must have confidence in TSMC, and the government will fully support the ‘sacred mountain’ that protects the country (…) so that TSMC expands its global presence and establishes a joint company in any location, definitely needs the government’s permission.” It is evident that the possibility that TSMC acquires such a solid production infrastructure outside Taiwan is detrimental to weight That has this island in the sector that feeds it. Right now we cannot assume that TSMC will control Intel plants, but we can be safe: 2025 will be a very exciting year in regard to the development of the integrated circuit industry. More information | Reuters In Xataka | What’s behind the chips megafabrica that TSMC and Samsung plan to build in Arab Emirates

China prepares to lead the manufacture of chips for advanced weapons

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China monopolizes gallium production. In fact, Up to 2022 monopolized 98% of the world gross Gallic, and this figure presumably has barely varied since then. For the country led by Xi Jinping This metal has a strategic value comparable to the one for the US due to its potential in military applications. And, in addition, Gallium export control allows China to respond to the sanctions to which the US and their allies are subjecting this Asian country in the scope of the semiconductor industry. Gallium is a very special metal. Its physicochemical properties make it suitable to be combined with other metals with the purpose of manufacturing a special type of integrated circuits called broadband semiconductors. These chips have three properties that make them very valuable to intervene in the manufacture of Advanced military teams: They support voltages, temperatures and frequencies higher than integrated conventional silicon circuits. During the 70s the US Advanced Defense Research Projects (Darpa) He dedicated many resources to the development of semiconductors in which Gallium was involved due to the potential he had in military technology projects. He Gallium Arseniuro (GAAS) played a fundamental role in the development of the global positioning system (GPS), and also in Radark tuning and precision weapons. China has taken a very important step forward Currently, Gallium Nitruro (GAN), which also has Darpa’s backing, is being used to make state -of -the -art radars that are capable of accurately identifying smaller, fast and numerous objects at more distance. Each of these radars incorporates several thousand chips in which the gallium intervenes. Everything we have just seen invites us to reach an obvious conclusion: Gallium is an essential metal for the US. But this country is not the only military superpower on the planet. The Chinese army and research institutions have been working with Gaul for many years and developing technologies that allow you to use it Third generation advanced semiconductors. As we have seen, China has Gallium in abundance, but producing integrated circuits with this metal is not easy. Neither for the country led by Xi Jinping nor for which Donald Trump is currently governing. Modifying electrons energy levels, it is possible to accurately control climbing and reduce defects To manufacture gallium nitruro, silicon and sapphire substrates are often used, but the effectiveness of the processes used so far was moderate because the hexagonal atomic structure of the GAN causes the appearance of a defect known as climbing. In broad strokes this curious phenomenon triggers the displacement of groups of atoms in a certain region of the crystal, which affects its structure and reduces its properties. In fact, GAN manufacturing defects cause electric leaks, reduce their thermal stability and reduce the performance of semiconductors. Until now the researchers who work with GAN had difficulty understanding why these defects appear in the crystalline structure of this material. And also to deal with them. But the team of scientists led by Professor Huang Bing at the University of Beijing (China) has identified the cause which triggers the production of defects during the growth of the Gan Crystals. What these scientists have discovered is that modifying the energy levels of electrons it is possible to accurately control the climbing and reduce defects. “Traditional strategies to avoid defects include the use of different substrates and the adjustment of crystallization temperatures, but these approaches only address symptoms, not the cause,” Professor Huang Bing explained. If China manages to get this research from the laboratory and bring to production chains this technology will have the ability to manufacture cheapest GAN -GAN semiconductors, of more quality and a much larger scale. And at this juncture it will not be unreasonable to anticipate that it will be done with the leadership of the application of 3rd generation semiconductors in the military field and 5G technologies. Image | TSMC More information | SCMP In Xataka | This semiconductor is spectacular. So much so that for the MIT is its nº 1 candidate to replace the silicon

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