IBM Accelerates Transfer of 2nm Technology to Japan's Rapidus, "Expecting Expanded Collaboration"

The US Seeking to Secure Supply Chains Collaborates with Technologically Lagging Japan
Japan Combines Public and Private Efforts to Revive the Semiconductor Industry

According to a report by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 30th, Rapidus, a semiconductor company formed by major Japanese companies such as Toyota, Sony, and SoftBank to revive Japan's semiconductor industry, is accelerating the development of 2-nanometer (nm; 1 nm is one billionth of a meter) semiconductor technology in partnership with the US company IBM.

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna stated that Japan is highly likely to secure advanced semiconductor technology and mentioned that US-Japan cooperation will be expanded.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

According to the report, Rapidus plans to send 100 engineers to IBM to acquire the 'Gate-All-Around (GAA)' technology necessary for the 2-nanometer era. In December last year, Rapidus and IBM signed a technology agreement, and the first group of personnel was sent last month. An additional 100 engineers will be dispatched this summer. To support this, the Japanese government decided last month to provide an additional subsidy of 260 billion yen (approximately 2.5 trillion won) to Rapidus.

GAA is a technology developed to prevent current leakage caused by the miniaturization of semiconductor circuit line widths. It is regarded as a core process technology used for advanced semiconductor microfabrication. IBM began producing prototypes of 2-nanometer products for the first time in the world in 2021. Rapidus will pay license fees to acquire the technology and aims to mass-produce 2-nanometer products by 2027.

This semiconductor technology cooperation is crucial for Japan. Currently, only Taiwan's TSMC and Samsung Electronics in South Korea can produce cutting-edge semiconductors below 5 nanometers worldwide. US company Intel also declared its re-entry into the foundry business in 2021 and is accelerating technology development.

Japan, which dominated the semiconductor industry in the 1980s, was not behind other countries' companies in technology until the early 2000s. In 2002-2003, there were 26 companies worldwide capable of producing 130-nanometer semiconductors, considered advanced at the time, and 10 of them were Japanese companies. However, between 2010 and 2012, among 10 companies capable of producing advanced 28-32 nanometer semiconductors, none were Japanese.

Japan is also focusing on strengthening its technological capabilities through government-level cooperation with the Joe Biden administration in the US. The US is cooperating with Japan's technology development to diversify the advanced semiconductor manufacturing supply chain, which is concentrated in Taiwan and South Korea, while containing China. The US and Japan announced a joint statement outlining a 'Joint Roadmap for Next-Generation Semiconductor Development and Workforce Training' to strengthen semiconductor technology cooperation.

IBM CEO Krishna, who is helping strengthen Japan's technological capabilities, said in an interview with Nihon Keizai published on the 27th that more collaboration between the US and Japan will occur in advanced semiconductors and quantum computing. When asked if Japan could regain advanced semiconductor technology, he said, "I think the probability of success is very high," explaining that there is sufficient investment in the Japanese semiconductor industry, semiconductor engineers are working hard, and IBM will provide the technology.

Krishna said, "As an industry leader, we must help create a stable supply chain. Cooperation with Japan is part of that," adding, "The US and Japan are well connected, and both countries will benefit."