Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are evaluating chipmaking equipment from China’s Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. (AMEC) for possible use at their Chinese factories, three people familiar with the matter said. The reported evaluations come as the South Korean memory-chip makers hedge against the risk of tighter US controls on equipment shipments to China.
The evaluations do not establish that AMEC’s tools have passed production qualification, and there is no confirmed order from either company. Any move by Samsung or SK Hynix toward Chinese equipment would nevertheless mark a notable development for China’s semiconductor-equipment industry and the companies’ China-based manufacturing operations. [Reuters]