As of 5 or 6 years ago [before I retired], both the Russians and Chinese were ahead of the US and EU in applying Gallium Nitride (GaN), over Gallium Arsenide semiconductors in transportable and airborne radar applications and the result is longer intercept ranges over US/EU systems. It was a little reported technology gap.
GaN better heat resistance allowed higher energy power supplies for radar and radio transmitter chains. The heat tolerance allows more power which means more range for the RF emissions.
Russia and China must be "printing" some advanced microcircuits at least in power supply applications.
US is catching up, the SPY 6 (New Aegis) has some GaN and a new radar for F-35 (which adds to its power/heat containment issues) should use GaN.
I can't imagine PRC has not got a lot of data on those Dutch printers TSMC uses!!
Thanks for your comment, Ed. The change in application would result from materials science where IMO Russia is #1. I'm sure there's some tech transfer in this area between China and Russia, but they are also competitors to a degree. I thought of including a pic of a @ 1900 lithograph machine for contrast but didn't.
good for russia! screw these sanction crazy control freaks who want to dominate and bully others via financial or other types of sanctions.. go russia!!
Sanctions have completely backfired, not only because they are damaging the EU (and maybe, to a less extent, the US), but also because they have forced Russia to become completely independent in all sectors and thus helping Russian research & innovation thrive.
This is 1 of the main reasons the West is being left behind on so many levels. Whether it's the Chinese, Russians or Indians. They aren't resting on their laurels. The West shouts from the tree tops how fantastic they are. How much more advanced they are. Total arrogance & bluster coming from lazy profit seekers. If the West has something they believe is way ahead of anyone else. The greed kicks in, it's all about profits for people who have no input in any developments. As a result the lack of foresight & reinvestment becomes something to do in the future. Well done to Russia & everyone involved in the amazing creations they've already gave the world. Today Russia is a country thar not only the global South looks up to to lead humanity.
It doesn't say anything about it but I think that simply put the 'best chips' are not often needed.
Just like our pc's often the computing power of the cpu is never fully used. The best chips only, in the main, do what earlier chips did but do it faster.
We put a man on the moon with a chip running at 1.024 MHZ (yes, 'MHZ' ) with just 72 kB of memory. Of course, it didn't have to play computer games on the way there (or back).
Might be getting more important now with AI. I simply don't know. But if AI is going to be dramatically important then it is a fact, I think, that we need mucho computing power for AI and possible such as Nvidia's new 'DIGIT' device, that kind of thing? Freely available to the public on the one hand but I'd doubt freely available in military use quantities to Russia on the other.
But that's all 'mights' and 'maybes'. I dunno really if the Russian (or any other) army needs that stuff and if they do whether or not just a couple of them in the headquarters is enough. Or every online unit needs them? Dunno.
At the recent Direct Line, Sber introduced its new AI platform that clearly relies on big computing power. There’re Russian specialty journals that deal with AI and computing/microelectronics that exist but I don’t have time to follow, although I try to stay abreast.
Hi Karl, thank you for the article. As you have pointed out, the path of scientific research is available to all of humanity, and those who are ignorant of the advances made by Russians (and other "non-Westerners") would do well to confront their ignorance. The timescales required for developing such technologies have become increasingly incompatible with the "quarterly" reporting schedule of large companies. This is of course linked to the increasing financialization of such companies, in essence the "value" of partaking in the scientific process of experimentation (which requires substantial critical thinking) is not comparable to dreams of marketing a "solution" for the world to consume (with little thought to factors such as waste, etc).
This is also to say that scaling up such technologies to "overcapacity" level is almost an entirely separate discipline, yet one that provides its own set of learning. To that end, if you or other readers are interested in learning more about exactly how arduous the path to EUV lithography was I highly recommend this video (disclaimer: it is a bit dense/long):
You will learn that attempts at utilizing x-ray sources were made in the past, however as I discussed, sometimes the "failure" of a technological approach in the past is inextricably linked to time/budget constraints. Necessity is the mother of invention and the sanctions regime has opened up many new paths to explore in this regard. I do hope for the day that scientific collaboration can once again flourish between all peoples of the world.
This is quite interesting. I'd certainly read, previously, of 'chip wars' and the politics around access to chips, materials and technology broadly; but hadn't even thought about the challenge of developing chip-production-capable machines. I'm happy to learn that the sanctions have once again (perhaps) spurred Russia into development of its own. Of course, it is no surprise that they had that ability and that it might allow them to leapfrog others.
You’ve read the articles on Russian science and education, so this wasn’t too surprising. It does provide yet another reason to invest in Russian development.
"the radiation source should not contaminate the area where the work processes are taking place" should be "the radiation source should not DAMAGE the area where the work processes are taking place". Radiation does not contaminate silicon, but it can damage the crystal lattice of the silicon wafer.
"As a result, scientists expect that with the same power of the radiation source, the Nizhny Novgorod installation - no longer demo, but fully operational - will be 1.5-2 times more efficient than the Dutch one."
That would be impressive. I am pretty sure that Russians can do it, as they have much smarter scientists and engineers than here in the West, as their advancement in hypersonic missiles demonstrate, plus they are not burdened by ridiculous project managements methods and amount of bureaucracy typical of EU, which stifles research and innovation.
Agreed, but likely that is because they are busy making replicas of Charlie Company team Ernest Medina and William Calley. Even Henry Ford was visionary enough to invest in certain european leaders of technology that is considered to be of ill repute these days.
"Compared, for example, with the lithographs of the world's leading manufacturer from the Netherlands – ASML, in the Nizhny Novgorod model, the radiation source is many times more compact and cleaner in operation, which ultimately significantly affects the cost, size and complexity of the equipment. The optical system of the demonstrator, produced at IPM RAS, generally surpasses all analogues existing in the world today."
Speaking of ASML, America has been forcing this Dutch company to stop its export of lithograph-related equipment to China, as part of the USA's War on the Chinese tech industry.
"Dutch government to comply with US service ban request for Chinese ASML customers"
What's really outrageous--and not even questioned by many people--is what right does America have to dictate to a Dutch company, which is not American by definition, whom it can and cannot trade with.
So much for the USA's vaunted Free Market dogma.
This example of US imperial impunity reflects the inbred belief that America is the dictator of the world in all but name--an American dictatorship that disguises itself as the so-called "Leader of the Free World."
Well the dictator of the world is having some difficulty installing a fine upstanding evangelical as Secretary of Defense in its homeland. Six minutes of pure delight here:
Hogsbreath is looking a bit tacky right now. This is so bad that I muse that Trump is publicly executing all the extreme team before sending in the B team. Or maybe Peter Thiel does this sort of theatre just for kicks. Now I know what an Aztec ceremonial function to install a new chief could have resembled to the crowd.
As of 5 or 6 years ago [before I retired], both the Russians and Chinese were ahead of the US and EU in applying Gallium Nitride (GaN), over Gallium Arsenide semiconductors in transportable and airborne radar applications and the result is longer intercept ranges over US/EU systems. It was a little reported technology gap.
GaN better heat resistance allowed higher energy power supplies for radar and radio transmitter chains. The heat tolerance allows more power which means more range for the RF emissions.
Russia and China must be "printing" some advanced microcircuits at least in power supply applications.
US is catching up, the SPY 6 (New Aegis) has some GaN and a new radar for F-35 (which adds to its power/heat containment issues) should use GaN.
I can't imagine PRC has not got a lot of data on those Dutch printers TSMC uses!!
Thanks for your comment, Ed. The change in application would result from materials science where IMO Russia is #1. I'm sure there's some tech transfer in this area between China and Russia, but they are also competitors to a degree. I thought of including a pic of a @ 1900 lithograph machine for contrast but didn't.
One dent that has been put in US plans is the recent banning of sales of gallium by China.
As China produces around 98% of global supply (according to the interwebs), that is going to put some seeious dampners on US usage of Ga.
good for russia! screw these sanction crazy control freaks who want to dominate and bully others via financial or other types of sanctions.. go russia!!
Sanctions have completely backfired, not only because they are damaging the EU (and maybe, to a less extent, the US), but also because they have forced Russia to become completely independent in all sectors and thus helping Russian research & innovation thrive.
This is 1 of the main reasons the West is being left behind on so many levels. Whether it's the Chinese, Russians or Indians. They aren't resting on their laurels. The West shouts from the tree tops how fantastic they are. How much more advanced they are. Total arrogance & bluster coming from lazy profit seekers. If the West has something they believe is way ahead of anyone else. The greed kicks in, it's all about profits for people who have no input in any developments. As a result the lack of foresight & reinvestment becomes something to do in the future. Well done to Russia & everyone involved in the amazing creations they've already gave the world. Today Russia is a country thar not only the global South looks up to to lead humanity.
It doesn't say anything about it but I think that simply put the 'best chips' are not often needed.
Just like our pc's often the computing power of the cpu is never fully used. The best chips only, in the main, do what earlier chips did but do it faster.
We put a man on the moon with a chip running at 1.024 MHZ (yes, 'MHZ' ) with just 72 kB of memory. Of course, it didn't have to play computer games on the way there (or back).
Yes, that point was made over and again against the Establishment Narrative. The #1 chips are only for optimal uses.
Might be getting more important now with AI. I simply don't know. But if AI is going to be dramatically important then it is a fact, I think, that we need mucho computing power for AI and possible such as Nvidia's new 'DIGIT' device, that kind of thing? Freely available to the public on the one hand but I'd doubt freely available in military use quantities to Russia on the other.
But that's all 'mights' and 'maybes'. I dunno really if the Russian (or any other) army needs that stuff and if they do whether or not just a couple of them in the headquarters is enough. Or every online unit needs them? Dunno.
:)
At the recent Direct Line, Sber introduced its new AI platform that clearly relies on big computing power. There’re Russian specialty journals that deal with AI and computing/microelectronics that exist but I don’t have time to follow, although I try to stay abreast.
Hi Karl, thank you for the article. As you have pointed out, the path of scientific research is available to all of humanity, and those who are ignorant of the advances made by Russians (and other "non-Westerners") would do well to confront their ignorance. The timescales required for developing such technologies have become increasingly incompatible with the "quarterly" reporting schedule of large companies. This is of course linked to the increasing financialization of such companies, in essence the "value" of partaking in the scientific process of experimentation (which requires substantial critical thinking) is not comparable to dreams of marketing a "solution" for the world to consume (with little thought to factors such as waste, etc).
This is also to say that scaling up such technologies to "overcapacity" level is almost an entirely separate discipline, yet one that provides its own set of learning. To that end, if you or other readers are interested in learning more about exactly how arduous the path to EUV lithography was I highly recommend this video (disclaimer: it is a bit dense/long):
https://youtu.be/v3BPlGyYK3U?si=LFR-p_SXsQTv53In
You will learn that attempts at utilizing x-ray sources were made in the past, however as I discussed, sometimes the "failure" of a technological approach in the past is inextricably linked to time/budget constraints. Necessity is the mother of invention and the sanctions regime has opened up many new paths to explore in this regard. I do hope for the day that scientific collaboration can once again flourish between all peoples of the world.
What a fascinating read about how a chip is made and the brilliant novelty of the Russians approach.
The Russian Revolution is coming into its own dimension 100 years later.
This is quite interesting. I'd certainly read, previously, of 'chip wars' and the politics around access to chips, materials and technology broadly; but hadn't even thought about the challenge of developing chip-production-capable machines. I'm happy to learn that the sanctions have once again (perhaps) spurred Russia into development of its own. Of course, it is no surprise that they had that ability and that it might allow them to leapfrog others.
What a fascinating article, and good on Russia for this amazing achievement!
You’ve read the articles on Russian science and education, so this wasn’t too surprising. It does provide yet another reason to invest in Russian development.
Looked at recent Chinese patents and claims re: using synthetic diamond substrates for IC rather than silicon wafers?
"the radiation source should not contaminate the area where the work processes are taking place" should be "the radiation source should not DAMAGE the area where the work processes are taking place". Radiation does not contaminate silicon, but it can damage the crystal lattice of the silicon wafer.
"As a result, scientists expect that with the same power of the radiation source, the Nizhny Novgorod installation - no longer demo, but fully operational - will be 1.5-2 times more efficient than the Dutch one."
That would be impressive. I am pretty sure that Russians can do it, as they have much smarter scientists and engineers than here in the West, as their advancement in hypersonic missiles demonstrate, plus they are not burdened by ridiculous project managements methods and amount of bureaucracy typical of EU, which stifles research and innovation.
They don’t make anymore people like Henry Ford who was a visionary and American patriot. Today US features Fink (BlackRock) and Bourla (Pfizer).
Agreed, but likely that is because they are busy making replicas of Charlie Company team Ernest Medina and William Calley. Even Henry Ford was visionary enough to invest in certain european leaders of technology that is considered to be of ill repute these days.
Good to hear of this development. I guess China and Russia can do some sort of technology sharing with this development too:
https://interestingengineering.com/military/china-microwave-weapon-nuclear-bomb-like-power
Sure beats sending shovels and old shotguns to the motherland.
"Compared, for example, with the lithographs of the world's leading manufacturer from the Netherlands – ASML, in the Nizhny Novgorod model, the radiation source is many times more compact and cleaner in operation, which ultimately significantly affects the cost, size and complexity of the equipment. The optical system of the demonstrator, produced at IPM RAS, generally surpasses all analogues existing in the world today."
Speaking of ASML, America has been forcing this Dutch company to stop its export of lithograph-related equipment to China, as part of the USA's War on the Chinese tech industry.
"Dutch government to comply with US service ban request for Chinese ASML customers"
https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/dutch-government-to-comply-with-us-service-ban-request-for-chinese-asml-customers/
What's really outrageous--and not even questioned by many people--is what right does America have to dictate to a Dutch company, which is not American by definition, whom it can and cannot trade with.
So much for the USA's vaunted Free Market dogma.
This example of US imperial impunity reflects the inbred belief that America is the dictator of the world in all but name--an American dictatorship that disguises itself as the so-called "Leader of the Free World."
Well the dictator of the world is having some difficulty installing a fine upstanding evangelical as Secretary of Defense in its homeland. Six minutes of pure delight here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylY3KkVxmC8
Hogsbreath is looking a bit tacky right now. This is so bad that I muse that Trump is publicly executing all the extreme team before sending in the B team. Or maybe Peter Thiel does this sort of theatre just for kicks. Now I know what an Aztec ceremonial function to install a new chief could have resembled to the crowd.
This is just a facet of the full-spectrum dominance desired by looters and degenerates
This truly exciting news.