10-03-2021, 12:04 PM
China claims chipmaking breakthrough with mass production of key material just 1/10 width of a human hair
![[Image: 44920644-8085-445e-b33e-291bcce5567a.jpg]](https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2021/2021-03-03/44920644-8085-445e-b33e-291bcce5567a.jpg)
A smart assembly line for the manufacturing of nanometer mono-crystalline copper, the first of its kind in the country, became operational in Pingyang county in Wenzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province on Saturday, according to Chinese state broadcaster, signaling that a key material in chipmaking has entered mass production locally.
The finished product of nanometer mono-crystalline copper, with a diameter of 13 micrometers, merely one-tenth of the width of a human hair, is a pivotal material used in semiconductor packaging. The country has previously relied on imports for the majority of key semiconductor materials, with raw materials - pricey precious metals such as gold and silver - becoming one of the neck-choking challenges for the country’s chipmaking, the state broadcaster reported.
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