Reference News, July 20 report: According to the "Nikkei Business Publications" on July 18, the Japanese advanced semiconductor manufacturer Rapidus, which has cost tens of billions of yen in national funds, has started trial operations for mass production. Its factory in Chitose City, Hokkaido, was opened to the media on the 18th.

At this stage, comments about this company are mixed with expectations and anxieties, and the anxious voices seem to be more prevalent.

To achieve mass production as scheduled in 2027, the extreme ultraviolet lithography machine produced in the Netherlands, known as "the most complex mechanical device on earth," is the most indispensable equipment for Rapidus. The good news is that it has been successfully put into use.

However, once mass production begins, can it truly achieve a yield rate of over 70%? This will directly affect the company's profitability. More importantly, how many customers can Rapidus attract?

TSMC is the world's largest chip foundry, and both the Japanese government and Rapidus expect it to "eventually become a competitor." TSMC's clients include many leading enterprises in the global digital and manufacturing industries, such as Apple and NVIDIA.

It is reported that Rapidus has also signed memoranda of understanding with several industry-leading companies. There are also rumors that the company will produce chips for Japan Telecom's next-generation communication infrastructure. However, many experts predict that the expected order volumes of each of these companies may be two digits less than the number of wafers Apple orders from TSMC monthly.

The fate of semiconductor manufacturers, especially chip foundries, hinges on the number and quality of customers, as well as the scale of orders. For a newly established company, this may sound harsh, but it is a necessary condition to realize the virtuous cycle of "high-quality products - high-quality customers - developing even better products."

If TSMC leads the world in cutting-edge products such as 2nm and 3nm processes, then in the mature semiconductor field of 7nm and above, Chinese enterprises as a whole have already gained an overwhelming share, mainly due to China's strongest industrial foundation in digital products and electric vehicle production worldwide.

So, can Japan reestablish this connection between semiconductor companies and manufacturing? From trade statistics, since the 2010s, Japan's international balance of payments for digital products has been in deficit. In the 1990s, the market was dominated by personal computers, televisions, and displays. With the launch of the Apple iPhone in 2007, Japan gradually became a net importer of smartphones.

This aligns with the decline of the once-global Japanese semiconductor industry. The establishment of Rapidus is the first step in repairing this break. Therefore, we should pay more attention to cultivating "high-quality customers," encouraging technological innovation and the development of emerging industries. The revival of the semiconductor industry can only be achieved by revitalizing the manufacturing sector centered around digital products and exploring new markets. (Translated by Liu Lin)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7529086418052710966/

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