Memory manufacturer YMTC wants to use Chinese equipment for 3D Nand production

Chinese memory manufacturer YMTC wants to use locally produced equipment to make 3D NAND memory. Sources report this to the South China Morning Post. The company is said to have placed large orders with Chinese producers.

YMTC is making the investments as part of a project called Wudangshan, sources tell SCMP. The company is said to have placed orders with Naura Technology Group from Beijing, which produces etching machines and therefore competes with the American LAM Research. The company reportedly asked equipment makers to remove all logos and other signs from their equipment to avoid further US sanctions. writes TechPowerUp.

The Chinese memory maker announced last year that it had made “significant progress” in the development of are advanced X3-9070 memory chips. The chipmaker would provide those memory chips with 232 layers. However, those plans were complicated when YMTC was placed on the US entity list late last year. This means the company can no longer purchase advanced chip production equipment that uses American technology.

It is not yet known how many layers the first YMTC memory chips made entirely with Chinese equipment will have. There are no equivalent Chinese alternatives for several Western products that are subject to export restrictions, such as certain advanced lithography machines from ASML.