Cutting-edge chip technology on display at expo

Chinese semiconductor companies are unveiling new products featuring cutting-edge technologies at the ongoing WESEMiBAY Semiconductor Ecosystem Expo, which opened in Shenzhen on Wednesday.

The development echoes the views of industry leaders and experts, who assert that China is experiencing rapid growth and achieving breakthroughs across multiple domains of the industry.

Shenzhen LongSight Technology unveiled the global launch of its independently developed new-generation ultra-high-speed real-time oscilloscopes.

With a bandwidth exceeding 90 GHz, it ranks second in the world and has broad industrial application prospects in the fields of semiconductors, 6G communications, optical communications and intelligent driving, said CEO Liu Sang.

Shenzhen LongSight Technology is a subsidiary of SiCarriers, a Shenzhen-based State-owned enterprise that specializes in the research and production of semiconductor equipment and components.

An oscilloscope is an indispensable tool in the chip manufacturing process, ensuring high performance and high reliability of chips, and LongSight's breakthrough will benefit chips developed in the country, said industry insiders.

Wuhan Qiyunfang Technology, another subsidiary of SiCarriers, announced the release of two domestically developed electronic design automation (EDA) tools, both featuring completely independent intellectual property rights, at the expo.

These tools — a schematic design software and a PCB design software — address the gap in high-end electronic design industrial software technology in China.

At the expo, the 2024 China Top 10 Chip Science Progress Awards were also announced. Several research teams from Chinese universities, including the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Tsinghua University, and Hunan University, were among the recipients.

"These results, selected through online voting by over 100,000 participants and votes from more than 100 experts, reflect the level of development in China's chip science and technology," said Jin Xianmin, executive editor of CHIP, a comprehensive international journal focused on chip research based in Shanghai.

"We conducted a rigorous screening of the online votes to ensure their validity. Such widespread participation demonstrates the vitality of this industry," he added.

Jin, who serves as dean of the Chip Hub for Integrated Photonics Xplore (CHIPX) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and is also founder and CEO of TuringQ, said that apart from the shortage of lithography machines, China has made significant progress in various areas of chip technology.

He suggested that breakthroughs could be achieved through architectural innovations and new chip platforms, such as photonic chips, to leapfrog rivals.

The expo, which will run till Friday, has attracted more than 600 companies from home and abroad.

Covering an exhibit area of 60,000 square meters, the expo focuses on four major exhibition zones, including wafer manufacturing, advanced packaging, IC design, and compound semiconductors.