Chinese chip manufacturer Loongson is set to make the transition to 7nm chips in 2024, which is expected to deliver a performance boost of 20% to 30%. However, due to U.S. sanctions, Loongson will be limited to producing its chips in China. While this may result in some loss of performance and efficiency, it is still seen as a positive development for China’s semiconductor industry.
Loongson is known for producing CPUs and GPUs and currently manufactures 12nm CPUs, possibly through Chinese foundry SMIC. The upgrade to 7nm is anticipated to enhance the performance of the 3A7000 CPU by 20% to 30%. The development of these chips will commence next year, but the final products are not expected to be available until at least 2025.
The company’s latest 12nm-fabbed 3A6000 CPU reportedly boasts an impressive instructions per cycle (IPC) similar to Zen 3 CPUs, despite being a step behind in terms of technology and being produced by a less established company. However, both the 3A6000 and its predecessor, the 3A5000, are quad-core CPUs, indicating that the upcoming 3A7000 will likely follow suit. This suggests that the focus will be on limited multicore performance gains.
Loongson does offer larger CPUs for servers, and this is where the 7nm chips could be crucial. Similar to AMD, Loongson utilizes chiplets for its server CPUs, with each chiplet housing 16 cores. The new 7nm process is expected to provide higher performance and efficiency, as well as increased chip density. This could result in smaller chips or the ability to accommodate more cores. Consequently, Loongson’s 7nm server CPUs could deliver significantly improved performance or become more cost-effective to produce.
One aspect that remains unclear is where Loongson will manufacture its 7nm processors. With U.S. sanctions in place, options such as Intel, TSMC, or Samsung are ruled out. The most realistic possibility is Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), China’s largest foundry. There are rumors that Huawei is also using SMIC to fabricate its 7nm or even 5nm smartphone chips. While using SMIC may not be ideal for Loongson, as 7nm chips will no longer be cutting-edge by 2025, it is seen as another step towards China achieving greater autonomy in silicon manufacturing.
