Domestic chip tool companies take centre stage at Semicon China with US counterparts largely absent amid tech war
- KLA, a key US supplier of semiconductor defect inspection and metrology systems, is the only big US tool company to be present
- Lam Research and Applied Materials have sponsored Semicon China for the second consecutive year but neither have a physical presence
US chip equipment companies are largely absent from the 1,100-exhibitor list at this week’s Semicon China, one of the country’s largest semiconductor industry events, as the China-US tech war continues to swirl.
Although major US chip tool companies Lam Research and Applied Materials have sponsored Semicon China for the second consecutive year, neither of them have a physical presence at the Shanghai-based trade fair, which kicked off on Wednesday.
KLA, a key US supplier of semiconductor defect inspection and metrology systems, is the only big US tool company to be present at the trade fair as both an exhibitor and sponsor.
US memory chip giant Micron, which has been affected by Chinese trade restrictions, was also listed as an event sponsor without having a booth to show off its latest products.
Amid rising geopolitical tensions and under rigid US export control measures, China is unable to directly buy advanced chips, such as the H100 and A100 graphics processing units designed by US-based Nvidia. However, the country is making solid progress in boosting local output of legacy chips, including those being used in cars and home appliances, to satisfy domestic demand.
A sales manager at Unicorn, a Shanghai-based distribution partner of KLA systems, said many US tool companies want to keep a low profile to avoid raising eyebrows in Washington. She asked not to be identified as she is not authorised to talk to the media.