Huawei Qingyun L540 laptop’s teardown reveals 5nm chip from TSMC and not SMIC

Huawei Qingyun L540 laptop surprised consumers with its new Kirin 9006C 5nm chip, but a recent teardown reveals that this processor belongs to TSMC and not China’s SMIC foundry. This revelation has created a new buzz in the Kirin matter.

So far, the Qingyun L540 laptop launch conveyed that Huawei silently introduced a new Kirin processor amid U.S. sanctions. Moreover, this chip said to come from the SMIC industry, which meant that China and its chip makers were free to produce high-end chips without remaining under the threat of foreign companies.

However, a new teardown of Huawei Qingyun L540 by TechInsights revealed that the 5nm chip comes from TSMC and not SMIC’s plate. Perhaps, the latter will take some more time to leap into the 5nm processing technology.

Earlier, we discussed that the Kirin 9006C processor does not differ much from the 9000 variant. Looking into the specs and components, one can easily point out that the Chinese tech giant has utilized its stocked element in the past.

As of now, the teardown marks stamps on these inputs. The details suggest that TSMC used this manufacturing process in 2020 when the U.S. started putting trade limitations on Huawei.

SMIC to begin 5nm chip production:

With the Qingyun L540 laptop, it was speculated that SMIC has achieved the milestone of a new 5nm chipset. However, the company is still in the process of beginning the 5nm chip production. The only processor for the SMIC in the present scenario is the Kirin 9000S 7nm, but only in limited units.

At the same time, it is unclear how Huawei brought in a three-year-old chip. Though a possibility is that the Chinese tech giant might have wanted to use the left-out stock instead of wasting it.

Perhaps, the latest teardown might have added relief in the U.S. as the law authorities were about to take strong action against Huawei and SMIC for new chip breakthroughs. It would be worth seeing how this matter proceeds in the time ahead.

(Source)