Russia develops its own lithography that arrives 30 years late

As a consequence of the sanctions that were imposed on Russia with the start of the war in Ukraine, the local government decided to revive the local semiconductor industry. Although the initiative was successful and resulted in the creation of its own lithograph, it can be considered approximately 30 years behind in relation to global industry.

According to Tom’s Hardware, the new local technology features a 350 nanometer process and could result in the creation of chips for the automotive industry. It also has applications in the energy and military sectors, but should result in equipment that is much less “smart” than that used in other places.

Vasily Shpak, Russia’s Minister of Industry and Trade, stated that the new lithography is currently undergoing testing in Zelenograd. For comparison purposes, 350 nanometer chips were present in lines such as Pentium MMX, Pentium Pro and Pentium IIwhich were considered top of the line in the second half of the 1990s.

Lithography is old even by Russian standards

Although the Russian government’s advances are surprising given the short time needed to achieve them, they still seem insufficient. This is because the two largest local manufacturers in the country, Angstrem and Mikron, already work with lithographs considered more advanced, ranging from 250 nm to 90 nm.

The expectation is that the 350 nm process will not be applied in industry, but rather as the basis for building a smaller, more efficient semiconductor sector. The national industry recovery plan was announced in 2023, with the main objective of reaching 90 nm technology by the end of the same year — something that clearly did not happen.

However, the Russian government continues to work towards the goals of manufacturing chips with 28 nm lithography by the end of 2027 and with 14 nm by 2030. On its way, the country faces a lack of professionals familiar with modern technologies, as well as an embargo on the import of materials that allow the creation of higher performance chips.

Fonte: Tom’s Hardware