U.S. Proposes Restrictions On Tech Investments In China

The U.S. proposed new rules to curtail American investments in Chinese language applied sciences that pose a nationwide safety menace, particularly calling out semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum data applied sciences, and AI.

The draft rules come almost a yr after the Biden administration issued an government order prohibiting investments in delicate applied sciences used to speed up China’s navy applied sciences.  “This proposed rule advances our nationwide safety by stopping the various advantages sure U.S. investments present — past simply capital — from supporting the event of delicate applied sciences in international locations that will use them to threaten our nationwide safety,” stated Paul Rosen, assistant secretary of the treasury for funding safety, in a launch.

Prohibited Semiconductor Transactions

The 165-page proposal defines prohibited semiconductor transactions (pages 133-134), which embody:

• EDA software program for the design of ICs or superior packaging;
• Entrance-end semiconductor fab gear designed for performing the quantity fabrication of ICs, together with gear used within the manufacturing phases from a clean wafer or substrate to a accomplished wafer or substrate;
• Tools for performing quantity superior packaging;
• Commodity, materials, software program, or know-how designed completely to be used in or with EUV lithography gear;
• Design of ICs for operation at or under 4.5 Kelvin, and ICs that meet or exceed efficiency standards in Export Management Classification Quantity 3A090;
• Fabrication of logic ICs utilizing a non-planar transistor structure, or with a manufacturing know-how node of 16/14 nanometers or much less, together with FD-SOI ICs;
• Fabrication of NAND with 128 layers or extra, or DRAM ICs at 18nm half-pitch or much less;
• Fabrication of gallium-based compound semiconductors, or ICs utilizing graphene transistors or carbon nanotubes, and
• Any IC utilizing superior packaging methods.

Prohibited AI And Supercomputing Transactions

Prohibited transactions for supercomputers and synthetic intelligence (pages 134-135) embody:

• Any supercomputer enabled by superior ICs that may present a theoretical compute capability of 100 or extra double-precision (64-bit) petaflops, or 200 or extra single-precision (32-bit) petaflops of processing energy inside a 41,600 cubic foot or smaller envelope;
• Any quantum laptop, or manufacturing of any of the vital elements required to provide a quantum laptop, equivalent to a dilution fridge or two-stage pulse tube cryocooler;
• Quantum sensing platforms for navy, authorities or mass-surveillance finish use;
• Quantum community or quantum communication system, and
• AI for navy finish use, weapons focusing on, goal identification, and navy decision-making.

Written feedback are due by Aug. 4, 2024. The rules are anticipated to be finalized this calendar yr.

Extra Studying:
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GF, BAE staff up; $2B Czech SiC plant; SEMI’s capability report; imec’s CFETs, beamforming transmitters; Germany chip plant postponed; EUV patterning advances; interconnect metals; plasma etch.