Huawei proposes new path for chip development amid US sanctions

SHANGHAI/BEIJING: China’s Huawei Technologies said on Monday it expects to design high-end chips by 2031 with transistor density equivalent to 1.4-nanometre processes, despite US sanctions that have made it difficult for China to obtain the equipment needed to manufacture chips at the world’s most advanced levels.

The projection was the most eye-catching claim in Huawei’s presentation of what it calls the Tau Scaling Law, a proposed new principle for improving chips as the industry can no longer rely mainly on making transistors smaller.

Although the company did not provide independent performance data, the target is significant because 1.4 nm is expected to be close to the global frontier for advanced chipmaking around the end of the decade.