Huali lifts China's chipmaking capacity

Shanghai Huali Microelectronics Corp, the city's largest integrated circuit investment project, saw its first lithography machine installed on its 12-inch wafer silicon assembly line on Monday, strengthening China's capacity to manufacture high-end chips.

Huali imported the lithography machine from Dutch global industry giant ASML. The NXT 1980Di is the most advanced immersion lithography tool in the Chinese market at the moment. Lithography machines are crucial to chip production, as they help to copy the chip design on the wafer.

Construction of Huali's 12-inch wafer silicon assembly line started on Dec 30, 2016, and has attracted a total investment of 38.7 billion yuan ($6.07 billion). Construction is due to be completed by the end of 2022, when it will have a monthly production capacity of 40,000 wafers.