This Chip Supplier Finds China Struggling With Cutting-Edge Chipmaking Tech Development

Leading supplier of materials critical for semiconductor production, JSR CEO said a lack of industry infrastructure would make it “very difficult” for China to develop cutting-edge chipmaking technology despite a push for self-sufficiency, the Financial Times reports.
Semiconductors, essential to products from smartphones to washing machines, have become a focus of competition between the U.S. and China.
Johnson said, “leading-edge capability takes decades and a lot of money to develop . . . you really need applications like the Apple Inc AAPL iPhone to pay for the stuff”.
Eric Johnson expected chip sector supply bottlenecks to continue into 2023.
Johnson said China would struggle to master the sophisticated chipmaking technology based on extreme ultraviolet or EUV lithography.
EUV lithography is a highly demanding process using light for etching minuscule integrated circuits onto silicon wafers.
Analysts said JSR has 30%-40% of the global market for photoresists to make advanced chips and counts Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd SSNLF, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd TSM, and Intel Corp INTC among its customers.