Huawei plans 1.4nm chips by 2031 despite US sanctions

Huawei announced a new chip design strategy on Monday that could accelerate China's path to semiconductor independence. The company plans to produce chips with transistor density equivalent to 1.4-nanometre processes by 2031, closing the gap with global leaders within five years.

The announcement, which was made at a Shanghai semiconductor symposium, highlights the strategy by the Chinese capital aimed at countering any US trade restrictions that prevent China from accessing its advanced manufacturing equipment.

Instead of pursuing the production of smaller transistors, Huawei unveiled the Tau Scaling Law, which is a new chip design methodology that emphasises shorter transmission times for signals and data in chips.

He Hui, Omdia's semiconductor research director, confirmed the strategy is credible: "Rather than depending solely on smaller transistors, the company is focusing on shortening interconnect, lowering latency and improving data movement inside the chip."

After being put on the US trade blacklist in 2019, Huawei moved into "extreme survival mode." This announcement was made at the Shanghai semiconductor conference, showing that the capital of China is trying to come up with ways of fighting any potential trade barriers that will block China from gaining access to its advanced manufacturing tools.

Rather than focusing on the fabrication of small transistors, the company announced the Tau scaling law, which is a new design concept for developing chips, focusing on fast signal and data transmissions.