Huawei helping Chinese firms to improve chip packaging tech: Report

A new report says that Huawei is paying attention to Chinese companies in order to improve chip packaging technologies. The company’s semiconductor unit HiSilicon sends an “elite task force” to firms assisting them with the chip packaging process.

Chipset packaging is the final step in chipmaking. It’s a procedure of enclosing an SoC in a protective cover to maintain reliability and performance. This step also manages the thermal management and electrical connections of a chipset.

Earlier, Huawei used to take chip supplies from TSMC. But after the U.S. ban hit the company in 2019, it ultimately relied upon Chinese suppliers for its chip progress.

The company started focusing on Chinese solutions and native suppliers for its chip progress and one of these was SJ Semiconductor. The company provides mid-range wafer fabrication and testing services. It makes integrated chipsets.

One of the SJ firm executives recently said that the Huawei HiSilicon unit sent an “elite task force” to help Chinese companies improve chip packaging technologies.

Huawei has been working on SJ Semiconductor for two years to make it a competitive player in chip packaging. As of now, the chipmaker can offer a wise alternative to TSMC’s tech with a “peak capacity of 1/10th of the TSMC chip technology”.

An SJ Semiconductor executive said:

“In this area, it’s easier than in advanced chip manufacturing and they have achieved some progress. They won’t sit still. Advanced packaging is what they need for AI computing. It’s one of the key lifelines to advanced chip technologies.”

The US ban seemingly helped Huawei not only to become independent but also to improve “the overall quantity and cost-effectiveness of chip production in China”.

Huawei helping Chinese firms to improve chip packaging tech: Report (Image Credits: Huawei)

Apart from SJ, Huawei has been helping other chipmakers like SiEn with its task force for the past two years. Since then, SiEn has built two more plants for 14nm chip testing and production. Another firm is SwaySure which led to rapid advancement with the help of Huawei’s strategic support. SMIC is also on this list.

The task force members serve as technical consultants for the chipmaking firms in China. They help companies overcome all sorts of challenges in chip production.

A chipmaker firm said:

“If you dig into some chipmakers or tech companies that are now doing more advanced technologies in China… very often you will find the shadow of Huawei. I don’t want to exaggerate things, but Huawei still leads in many R&D efforts and leading technology developments in China.”

A former TSMC executive mentioned that one should never underestimate China as it has a huge population full of good engineering education as well as an incentive to develop its own chip and tech industry. As Huawei switched to SMIC, it helped the Chinese chipmakers boost their experience, valuing the country.

US export controls are still major hurdles for Huawei in the chipset race. However many analysts believe that even if the efforts aren’t great or economical at present, they are fine for China’s progress in the tech world.

[Source]