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In recent years, the term “bottleneck” has become a keyword in the Chinese semiconductor industry. From EDA tools to lithography machines, from memory chips to equipment materials, the technological barriers and supply restrictions imposed by overseas giants have created significant uncertainty across the entire industry chain.
However, at the same time, a number of Chinese companies are quietly rising. They are either breaking monopolies in the equipment sector, catching up in the storage field, or achieving substitutions in materials. Although they still lag behind international giants in scale, they are becoming an important force in breaking the blockade.
1. AMEC
When it comes to Chinese semiconductor equipment breaking the blockade, AMEC is an unavoidable name. In the chip manufacturing process, the etching machine plays a role comparable to that of a sculptor’s knife, directly determining the precision of circuit patterns. This field has been almost entirely monopolized by American companies such as Applied Materials (AMAT) and Lam Research (LAM). After more than a decade of research and development, AMEC has finally achieved a technological breakthrough in dielectric etching equipment.
Data shows that by 2024, AMEC’s share in the global advanced etching equipment market is approaching 10%, with some products already entering the supply chains of leading foundries like TSMC and UMC. Especially at the 7nm and 5nm process nodes, AMEC’s plasma etching machines have been validated, becoming one of the few domestic equipment that can directly compete with international leaders as a “cutting-edge product”.
2. NAURA
If AMEC is a breakthrough in the etching field, then NAURA is more like an all-round player.
NAURA’s product line covers multiple key processes including etching, PVD, CVD, cleaning, and oxidation/diffusion, making it one of the few companies in China capable of providing complete front-end process equipment. Particularly in thin film deposition equipment (CVD/PVD), NAURA has gradually replaced Japanese and Korean manufacturers.
In 2024, the company’s semiconductor equipment revenue exceeded 16 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of over 40%. This growth is driven by strong domestic foundry expansion demands and the real opportunity for domestic manufacturers following restrictions on overseas equipment.
3. Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Ltd. (YMTC)
Another major bottleneck in the semiconductor field is memory chips. Whether it is DRAM (dynamic random-access memory) or NAND Flash, these have been almost entirely dominated by overseas giants such as Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron, and Kioxia. Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Ltd. (YMTC) in Wuhan represents China’s confidence in the storage field.
YMTC’s core competitiveness lies in its Xtacking architecture. This is an innovative 3D NAND technology that achieves higher storage density and performance by separating the manufacturing of storage cells from peripheral circuits and then stacking them vertically. By 2024, YMTC has achieved mass production of 232-layer 3D NAND, almost synchronously with manufacturers in the US, Japan, and South Korea.
Although YMTC currently holds only 3-5% of the global market share, far below Samsung’s 30%+, its significance lies in the fact that China finally has a memory chip company that can compete on the same stage as international leaders.
4. SMIC
No matter how powerful the equipment and materials are, they ultimately need to be applied in the wafer manufacturing process. In this regard, SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation) is undoubtedly the most core entity in China.
In recent years, SMIC has persistently advanced process upgrades despite multiple restrictions. By the end of 2023, its 7nm process chips have already been shipped in small batches and successfully validated in some high-performance applications. More importantly, SMIC is laying out multiple 12-inch and 8-inch wafer production lines in Shenzhen, Tianjin, Beijing, and Shanghai, covering logic, power devices, and specialty processes across various fields.
In 2024, SMIC’s revenue exceeded 50 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of over 20%. Although there is still a gap in advanced processes compared to TSMC and Samsung, SMIC has already formed a scale advantage in mature processes of 28nm and above, sufficient to support the vast domestic demands in automotive, industrial, and IoT sectors.
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Disclaimer: The materials in this article are sourced from official media and online news materials. If there are any errors, please refer to the latest information. This article does not constitute any investment advice, guidance, or commitment. Please read with caution.