A Chinese company produces the world's most advanced memory chip

The Canadian company TechInsights came into the public eye after revealing the nature of the processor in the latest phone model from Huawei, built on the basis of a technology that should not have been available to Chinese companies following the sanctions imposed by the US.

Recently, TechInsights "hit it off" with a press release showing that a "surprising technological leap" has enabled a Chinese company to produce the most advanced memory chip.

Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC) launched the 3D NAND chip, included in SSD (Solid-State Drive) storage units in July this year, and "the company is quietly developing advanced technologies despite the sanctions".

The South China Morning Post newspaper in Hong Kong points out that "the launch shows the continuation of the development of high technologies, despite the sanctions imposed by the United States".

The press release from TechInsights also states that "like the breakthrough in the Kirin 9000 processor in the Huawei Mate 60 Pro phone, there is growing evidence that China's drive to overcome trade restrictions and build its own domestic supply chain with semiconductors is more successful than expected".

The SCMP publication points out that 3D NAND memories are an important component in all computing systems dedicated to artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) applications, a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that focuses on building systems that can learn or they can improve performance depending on the data they process.

TechInsights writes that the memory chip was found in the ZhiTai Ti600 SSD with a capacity of 1 TB and has the highest storage density commercially available in a NAND chip, at 19.8 Gb/mm2.

SCMP has presented YMTC's progress in the development of new generations of memory chips since April 2023, when it published information on cooperation between Chinese suppliers in this regard. The ultimate goal is the exclusive use of Chinese-made equipment for the production of memory chips and processors.

Bloomberg recently took over the statements of a prominent figure on the semiconductor market, former vice president of TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), who emphasized that "the United States cannot stop the technological progress of SMIC or Huawei".

Burn J. Lin, who oversaw the lithography process at the company in Taiwan, said that the Chinese manufacturer SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.) can obtain 5-nanometer processors with the equipment already purchased from the Dutch company ASML Holding NV, which theoretically they can only be used for the production of processors up to 7 nanometers.

"It is not possible for the US to completely prevent China from improving its chip technology," Lin said in an interview at National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu, where he is dean of the semiconductor research college, according to Bloomberg, which also points out that similar statements came from Rene Haas, the executive director of the processor manufacturing company Arm Holdings.

For the former vice-president from TSMC, the attempts of American officials to stop, or at least slow down, through sanctions the progress of Chinese companies are doomed to failure.

The solution is different and it seems to be not at all obvious for the American authorities. Is the complete loss of the ability to maintain a high rate of innovation to blame?

"What the U.S. should really do is focus on maintaining its leadership in chip design, instead of trying to limit China's progress, which is pointless because China is adopting a nation-wide strategy to - and boost the chip industry", emphasized Burn J. Lin in the interview carried by Bloomberg.

According to the former Taiwan company official, the United States gave the Chinese company SMIC a "golden opportunity" when it banned TSMC in 2020 from doing business with Huawei because "SMIC inherited the massive orders, which allowed to improve its manufacturing technique".

Unfortunately, American officials seem to completely ignore Burn J. Lin's advice to focus on maintaining the leading position in the semiconductor industry, while opting to find new ways to block China's technological advance through sanctions.

The result is predictable. Soon, Chinese companies will no longer be able to be accused of "stealing" advanced Western technology, because efforts to obtain inferior technologies have no logic.