[News] Huawei-linked SiCarrier Says Tools Adopted by Multiple Fabs; Adds New Photomask, Wafer Inspection Tools
China’s semiconductor equipment makers are showcasing their growing capabilities at WESEMIBAY. According to National Business Daily, SiCarrier, a key player in China’s domestic semiconductor equipment development, says all its semiconductor equipment products have entered mass production and are already in use at multiple Chinese wafer fabs. At this year’s exhibition, SiCarrier showcased two major product categories: process equipment and inspection and metrology systems, spanning diffusion, thin-film processing, optical inspection, and optical metrology. However, specific customer names, equipment installation numbers, and production volumes for individual models remain unconfirmed, the report notes.
Notably, SiCarrier’s equipment brochure revealed two previously unseen products: PMI (Liupan Mountain) for photomask defect inspection and mEBI (Jinggang Mountain) for AI-powered nanoscale wafer defect detection, according to 21jingji.
SiCarrier, a Chinese semiconductor equipment maker reportedly linked to Huawei and backed by the Shenzhen government, first gained attention for claiming it had developed critical lithography machines capable of producing 28nm chips, according to Nikkei.
Qiyunfang Expands EDA Portfolio Toward Broader Design Toolchain
Meanwhile, SiCarrier subsidiary Qiyunfang is broadening its electronic design automation (EDA) portfolio, moving beyond the schematic and PCB design tools introduced last year toward a more comprehensive electronic design toolchain, according to National Business Daily.
Qiyunfang’s current EDA tools focus on schematic capture and printed circuit board (PCB) layout, rather than chip-level EDA used for integrated circuit design, verification, and physical layout. While preliminary research into chip-level EDA is underway, the company has yet to establish a clear product roadmap, National Business Daily adds.
In terms of customer adoption, Economic Observer reports that Qiyunfang’s schematic and PCB design software has been adopted by more than 100 enterprise customers, with the number of engineers using the tools rising from 20,000 last year to 50,000.
Long Sight’s 90GHz Oscilloscope Sees Strong Demand
Another SiCarrier subsidiary, Long Sight, drew attention at WESEMIBAY with its 90GHz ultra-high-speed real-time oscilloscope. According to Mydrivers, Long Sight’s 90GHz oscilloscope has entered commercial use, with Huawei and other Chinese companies and research institutions reportedly adopting the product. Several leading Chinese customers are using it for R&D testing, while demand is outpacing production capacity, company representatives said. Offering 90GHz bandwidth, the oscilloscope ranks second globally and marks a breakthrough for China in a category subject to Western export restrictions on equipment exceeding 60GHz.
Long Sight is also expanding its high-speed optical testing portfolio. According to Shanghai Securities News, the company has introduced a 65GHz optical sampling oscilloscope for testing 1.6T optical modules and single-lane 200G interconnects, alongside a 110GHz spectrum analyzer for 6G research and 67/110GHz vector network analyzers. The full lineup was showcased at this year’s WESEMIBAY.
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(Photo credit: SiCarrier)
