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Semiconductors
TechPolicy

China’s natural science fund supports new ‘chiplet’ tech research to advance semiconductor self-sufficiency amid threat of fresh US sanctions

  • The National Natural Science Foundation of China plans to provide up to US$6.4 million in funding for as many as 30 research projects
  • This initiative underscores Beijing’s resolve to push forward the country’s semiconductor self-sufficiency efforts amid US-led trade sanctions

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Chiplets, pre-developed silicon dies that can be packaged into a more complex processor, have gained much interest in mainland China because they reduce design costs. Photo: Shutterstock
Ben Jiangin Beijing
The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), a major domestic funding source for basic research and frontier exploration, has launched a new programme to finance dozens of projects focused on “chiplet” technology, which is seen as a short cut for the country to achieve semiconductor self-sufficiency amid US sanctions.
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The NSFC, which is under the Ministry of Science and Technology, plans to provide up to 46 million yuan (US$6.4 million) in funding for as many as 30 research projects to be conducted over a period of three to four years, according to a notice published on its website on Monday. It said applications will be accepted from September 1 through 7.

Chiplets, pre-developed silicon dies that can be packaged into a more complex processor, have gained much interest on the mainland because they reduce design costs and may even offer a solution to extending Moore’s Law, which refers to the doubling in the number of transistors on an integrated circuit (IC) every two years.

The goal of the NSFC’s latest programme is to “develop a research team with international influence to improve China’s indigenous innovation capabilities” in the field of semiconductors, according to the foundation’s notice.

The headquarters of the National Natural Science Foundation of China in Beijing. Photo: Handout
The headquarters of the National Natural Science Foundation of China in Beijing. Photo: Handout

The programme aims to find “a new technology path” for China in semiconductors through breakthroughs in the assembly and integration of chiplets, with an eye to raising the performance of these devices by “one or two levels”, the NSFC said.

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