Huawei's Innovative Path: Producing Advanced Chips Without EUV Technology
In an era of heightened technological challenges, Huawei has made significant strides in chip manufacturing despite facing obstacles due to U.S. sanctions. The company has devised a pioneering plan to create advanced chips without relying on extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. Renowned chip scientist Andrew B. Kahng has expressed confidence in this approach, suggesting that Huawei's ambitions in the semiconductor industry may not only be feasible but also potentially revolutionary.
The Dilemma of Advanced Lithography in China
Currently, Huawei and other Chinese tech firms are hindered by their inability to access advanced lithography machines needed for developing cutting-edge chips. The only supplier of EUV machines is ASML, which is currently restricted from shipping these essential tools to China. While ASML can provide Deep Ultraviolet lithography machines, these models lack the advanced capabilities needed to create chips smaller than 7nm, with possible limited production at 5nm using multiple patterning techniques.
Major Breakthrough in Chip Manufacturing
Recently, Huawei announced a groundbreaking development that could enable the production of chips with a transistor density comparable to 1.4nm chips by 2031. For context, leading manufacturer TSMC is set to begin mass production of 1.4nm chips starting in 2028. The higher the transistor density, measured in millions of transistors per square millimeter, the better the chip's performance.
According to Andrew B. Kahng, a prominent chip scientist at UC San Diego, Huawei's approach to chip production without using EUV machines is indeed viable.
The Advantages of Smaller Transistors
Reducing the distance between transistors allows for faster electrical signals, leading to increased processing speeds and reduced power consumption. It also enables foundries to yield more chips from each wafer, ultimately lowering production costs over time.
Introducing LogicFolding Architecture
In May, at the 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems in Shanghai, Huawei unveiled its innovative design architecture known as LogicFolding. This new approach is based on the Tau Scaling Law, which aims to minimize the time required for signals and data to traverse through computer chips.
LogicFolding utilizes a vertical stacking method for logic circuits, reducing the distance signals need to travel and thus mitigating issues that could affect processing speeds. Huawei claims to have successfully produced 381 chips using this technique, paving the way for a potential future in chip manufacturing.
Potential Impact on Moore's Law
Huawei’s ambition challenges the conventional geometric scaling method and might lead to a departure from the constraints of Moore's Law, which suggests physical limits to transistor miniaturization. With LogicFolding, Huawei is positioning itself to deliver competitive chips and maintain its technological edge in a rapidly evolving industry.
