The US has announced plans to invest more than US$5 billion (A$7.67 billion) in semiconductor R&D aimed at establishing the country as a leader in the next generation of these technologies.
The announcement, on Friday, said the money would be directed partly towards a National Semiconductor Technology Centre as part of the Chips and Sciences Act which was launched in 2022.
In January, reports emerged that the world’s biggest manufacturer of semiconductors, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, would have to delay the opening of a factory in Arizona till 2027 or even 2028.
This factory is the second that the Taiwan titan is building and aims to build 3nm chips. An earlier announcement in 2020 was for a plant that manufactured 5nm chips.
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The American announcement on Friday could be seen as a reaction to TMSC’s statement about the delay in the second factory coming on stream and the fact that the delays are due to a lack of clarity about US Government subsidies.
TSMC chairman Mark Liu told the company’s earnings conference in Taipei lin January: “Our overseas decisions are based on customer needs and the necessary level of government subsidy, or support.”
The US move came soon after reports said Japan would be opening the first of two factories built by TMSC by the end of the year, and that Tokyo had decided to build a second hub in Kumamoto prefecture that would come on stream by the end of 2027.
The quick provision of funding for these two Japanese ventures is in sharp contrast to the US situation, where little money has been allocated to any new semiconductor initiatives despite the announcements.
The two TMSC Japan plants are expected to produce chips ranging from 6nm to 40nm that can be used in cars and industrial equipment.
Friday’s US statement said: “Semiconductors were invented in America and serve as the backbone of the modern economy. But today, the US produces less than 10% of global supply and none of the most advanced chips.
“Similarly, decades ago the US Government invested nearly 2% of GDP in R&D. At that time, federally funded initiatives allowed America to lead the world in innovation – creating life-changing advances in technology like GPS and the Internet. In recent years, however, the government investment ratio has fallen below 1%.”
Apart from the NSTC, the US plans to spend a total of US$11 billion on other initiatives such as the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program, the CHIPS Metrology Program; and the CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute.
Friday’s announcement made it plain that despite the big amounts mentioned, only US$100 million had actually been handed out to any program as yet.
The US has been involved in a years-long effort to place hurdles in the way of China’s technological progress, with the Chips and Sciences Act being but the latest in a line of moves aimed at achieving this objective.
The extent to which the US has failed to make progress in this battle was underlined last week, with a report saying that China’s biggest semiconductor manufacturer would be able to produce 5nm chips this year.
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