Ever since the U.S. government blacklisted Huawei, the Chinese tech giant has experienced difficulties procuring almost all kinds of chips, because they all use American technologies in one way or another. And so to avoid curbs imposed by the U.S., Huawei has been building a secret fab network in China that can meet its demand for commodity logic, memory, microcontrollers, and even power semiconductors, according to a presentation by SIA (reported by Bloomberg).
Right now, Huawei's network includes five fabs: Shenzhen Pensun Technology's (PST) 28nm/40nm-capable logic fab; former Fujian Jihnua's (aka Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co., JHICC) memory fab that can make commodity DRAMs; SwaySure's fab, which is set to produce memory chips for automotive applications, consumer electronics, and wearables; Pengxinwei IC Manufacturing Co.'s (PXW) fab that specializes on image sensors and RF chips; and Qingdao Si'En's fab that produces microcontrollers (on 28nm – 180nm process technologies) and power electronics, such as MOSFETS, BCDs, and IGBTs.
