Meanwhile, all the information about the Kirin 9000S is strictly unofficial. At that time, it looked like an evolutionary step of its N+1, which was once called a low-cost alternative to TSMC's N7 (a 7nm-class fabrication process). In another Global Times publication, Chinese analysts labeled N+2 as SMIC's 5nm-class production node about a year ago. Meanwhile, SMIC's Twinscan NXT:2000i deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography scanners can make chips on 7nm and 5nm technologies, so that the company may have developed a 5nm-class fabrication process. If this is the case, then the Kirin 9000S is the first fruit of this collaboration.

Source: Washington Post September 04, 2023 10:03 UTC