9
The Pura 80 series went official this week, and it was hardly surprising to learn that Huawei’s latest flagship smartphone range is equipped with the 7nm Kirin 9020, the same SoC that powers last year’s Mate 70 family. Though the company has gravitated from the improved ‘N + 1’ architecture to the ‘N + 2,’ it has hit a development ceiling, even though SMIC, China’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, has been reported to have successfully developed its 5nm technology. Now, a new rumor claims that the commercialization of 5nm chips will happen, with Huawei’s Kirin likely utilizing this upgrade, but we should not hold our breath for something to materialize later this year.
Even if Huawei successfully manages to produce a 5nm Kirin SoC, it will be costly if manufacturing is done on the existing equipment
An individual whose username is machine translated to ‘Smart chip consultant’ on Weibo states that a 5nm chipset is underway, Huawei Central mentions, but none of the flagships will feature it in 2025, meaning that we should keep our hopes pinned on 2026. The tipster also mentions that the most advanced lithography that local companies, including Huawei, can leverage this year is N + 2, which is already used for the Kirin 9020. As for why a 5nm silicon cannot be commercialized this early, it all has to do with SMIC’s existing DUV equipment.
Since the U.S. has barred sales of ASML’s EUV machines to any Chinese firms, it is difficult to mass produce 5nm wafers, with Huawei facing a multitude of hurdles, such as low yields and increased production costs. With the current DUV hardware, a process called multi-patterning can be used to make this ambition a reality, but the drawbacks include higher mask counts, increased complexities, and defect rates. We previously reported that China’s in-house EUV machines could enter trial production in Q3 2025, and if successful, the likes of Huawei and SMIC could never have a need for overseas equipment again.
To make matters more complicated for China, the U.S. has ended sales of EDA tools to the region. These machines are pivotal for semiconductor engineering, and Huawei managed to maintain its strength in foresight because it has reportedly developed 14nm EDA tools for its 7nm Kirin 9020. For its future 5nm SoC launch, it is unclear if the company will rely on the same tools or needs to develop a solution from the ground up. Naturally, these hurdles make 5nm commercialization more arduous, but if there is anything noteworthy, our readers will be the first to learn about these updates.
