>The decision was influenced by a potential U.S. regulation that could prohibit chipmakers that receive American funding or financial support from using Chinese manufacturing equipment, three people told Nikkei Asia. U.S. lawmakers, led by Sen. Mark Kelly, have proposed the Chip EQUIP Act, which seeks to bar recipients of federal support and tax credits from buying equipment from “foreign entities of concern,” a term that industry executives broadly interpret as including Chinese suppliers. Some notable Chinese equipment used in TSMC’s earlier advanced chip production lines include etching tools from Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China (AMEC), one of China’s leading homegrown chip tool makers, and Mattson Technology, previously a U.S.-based company that was acquired by Beijing E-Town Semiconductor Technology in 2016.
>Leading Chinese chipmakers have been increasing their use of domestic equipment. According to Nikkei Asia’s analysis, lithography tools, still dominated by ASML of the Netherlands, remain an area where China has yet to develop viable alternatives. In other segments, however, Chinese companies have made significant progress in creating local solutions. The country’s top semiconductor equipment maker, Naura, has now emerged as the world’s sixth-largest player, following industry leaders **ASML, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, Lam Research, and KLA**.
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>The decision was influenced by a potential U.S. regulation that could prohibit chipmakers that receive American funding or financial support from using Chinese manufacturing equipment, three people told Nikkei Asia. U.S. lawmakers, led by Sen. Mark Kelly, have proposed the Chip EQUIP Act, which seeks to bar recipients of federal support and tax credits from buying equipment from “foreign entities of concern,” a term that industry executives broadly interpret as including Chinese suppliers. Some notable Chinese equipment used in TSMC’s earlier advanced chip production lines include etching tools from Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China (AMEC), one of China’s leading homegrown chip tool makers, and Mattson Technology, previously a U.S.-based company that was acquired by Beijing E-Town Semiconductor Technology in 2016.
>Leading Chinese chipmakers have been increasing their use of domestic equipment. According to Nikkei Asia’s analysis, lithography tools, still dominated by ASML of the Netherlands, remain an area where China has yet to develop viable alternatives. In other segments, however, Chinese companies have made significant progress in creating local solutions. The country’s top semiconductor equipment maker, Naura, has now emerged as the world’s sixth-largest player, following industry leaders **ASML, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, Lam Research, and KLA**.