Chinese memory-chip manufacturer CXMT says a new production platform has entered mass manufacturing, marking an important step in the country’s effort to build a more competitive domestic semiconductor industry.
The fifth-generation process is designed to increase the number of chips produced from each silicon wafer while reducing power use and manufacturing costs. CXMT introduced 24-gigabit LPDDR5X products intended for smartphones and other portable devices.
Competition in a strategic industry
The global market for dynamic random-access memory is led by Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron. China has invested heavily in domestic alternatives as U.S. export restrictions make access to some advanced semiconductor equipment and technologies more difficult.
CXMT says it used a complex patterning technique and worked with Chinese equipment suppliers to advance the new platform. Independent performance comparisons and large-scale customer adoption will help determine how closely the products compete with established global suppliers.