China claims chipmaking breakthrough with mass production of key material just 1/10 width of a human hair

A chip manufacture machine Photo: VCG
A smart assembly line for the manufacturing of nanometer mono-crystalline copper, the first of its kind in the country, became operational in Pingyang county in Wenzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province on Saturday, according to Chinese state broadcaster, signaling that a key material in chipmaking has entered mass production locally.

The finished product of nanometer mono-crystalline copper, with a diameter of 13 micrometers, merely one-tenth of the width of a human hair, is a pivotal material used in semiconductor packaging. The country has previously relied on imports for the majority of key semiconductor materials, with raw materials – pricey precious metals such as gold and silver – becoming one of the neck-choking challenges for the country’s chipmaking, the state broadcaster reported.

The nanometer mono-crystalline copper breakthrough enables the replacement of other precious metals by new copper-based materials, substantially reducing the cost as the newly mass produced offering carries a price tag that’s nearly 50 percent lower than its peer products in overseas markets.

The raw material is mainly applied in chips used in telecommunications, vehicles, healthcare and industrial control. 

Presently, the manufacturing base in Pingyang boasts an annual production capacity of 5 million reels. If running at full capacity, the base will be able to meet about 10 percent of the national need, thereby contributing to the country’s push for blockade breaking and import replacement in integrated circuits, the Saturday report said.

Global Times 

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