More than 10 China-based IC design houses and IC design service companies have placed 28nm chip orders at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), indicating the strengthening competitiveness of China-based IC suppliers, according to industry sources.
China-based IC design houses that have tapped TSMC for 28nm foundry capacity include HiSilicon Technologies, Spreadtrum Communications, Rockchip Electronics, Allwinner Technology and RDA Microelectronics and Datang
Previously, China-based IC design houses mostly relied on Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and Hejian Technology for low-cost foundry production in order to roll out chips for use in the domestic market, the sources noted.
China-based IC design houses have now begun adopting more advanced processes to enhance the performance of their chips for use in mobile devices, telecom equipment, 4G smartphones, IoT devices and other niche market applications, added the sources.
Excluding the wafer orders placed by MediaTek at TSMC, the total amount of wafer orders placed by China-based IC design houses at TSMC has actually exceeded that placed by Taiwan-based IC vendors, pointed out the sources.
