Huawei is pouring efforts to make a breakthrough in the chip industry, and it looks like the company has plans on this matter based on the 2nm process technology. A new patent is here showcasing the attempts of the firm despite lack of high-end tools.
The Chinese OEM recently issued a patent for a 2nm chip technology. While the company is still facing challenges to catch its rivals in the chipset battle, it is planning to end this phase, probably by the end of next year.
But the question is, how is that going to be possible, as Huawei has just hit the 5nm mark this year with the Kirin 9030 chip (N+3 node), powering the Mate 80? Well, the answer lies in the patent. Let’s explore it in full detail.
Patent: 21nm metal pitches
Starting with the application, the company applied for the new patent with the CN119301758A number on June 8, 2022, and it was published this year on January 10. It is entitled “Metal Integration Method for Manufacturing Integrated Devices”.
It is primarily focused on the manufacturing of advanced semiconductors. Also, it resolves the bottlenecks related to the BEOL patterning for ICs (Integrated Circuits).
BEOL (Back-End-Of-Line) is a crucial stage in the chipmaking process, where metal interconnect layers are deposited to connect the individual transistors and devices developed during the Front-End-Of-Line (FEOL) procedure.
The process is used to create electrical pathways that form the IC and allow signals to transmit between components seamlessly. In terms of 21nm or below chips, this process often becomes a problem in resistance capacitance delay, reliability, and yield.
2nm process
According to a Semiconductor researcher, Dr. Frederick Chen, who spotted the new patent, Huawei can achieve a 2nm process chip, and that too without any advanced EUV machine. This will become possible with the help of DUV equipment.
US ban on Huawei in 2019 restricted the company from using the cutting-edge chip technologies. As a result, the OEM began joining hands with the native semiconductor firms like SMIC and relied on the DUV machines for the past few years.
Now, the patent shows that the existing DUV machines can attain a 21nm metal pitch, delivering a performance of 2nm chips like TSMC and other competitors.
Huawei will use a fusion of SAQP (Self-Aligned Quadruple Patterning) and DUV machines to reduce the laser multiple exposures. Moreover, it will use a dual-step spacer-defined patterning method with a multi-material hard mask to create and shield narrow metal lines + vias.
As a result, the process will activate fully self-aligned vias (FSAV) for strong electrical connections without the requirement of the EUV machine. The process is not only a significant approach but also a cost-effective idea in the chipmaking tech.
In simple words, it’s a dual-material attempt to safeguard adjacent lines in metalization, while defining the structures in a separate phase without any EUV tool.
Benefits:
- Improves EPE (Edge Placement Errors) margins for sub-21 nm pitches.
- Enables lower capacitance and better interconnect reliability.
- Applicable to middle-of-line (MOL) or BEOL layers in chips.
Note that the patent doesn’t revolve around the 2nm chip but the sub-21nm metal pitches and aims to focus on the 3nm and 2nm nodes as the practical application range.
(Image Credits: Huawei)
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