BIS Requests Comments on Availability of Dry Etching Equipment in China
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security is asking for public comments on the availability of anisotropic plasma dry etching equipment in China. BIS is conducting an assessment of the availability of the equipment in response to a claim from the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International industry association. The equipment is controlled on the Commerce Control List, but SEMI contends the level of availability of the products in China makes U.S. export controls ineffective. Stakeholders must submit comments by Sept. 23. BIS is asking for comments in the following specific areas:
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
- Product names and model designations of anisotropic plasma dry etch equipment that are made in China and that are comparable to the U.S. anisotropic plasma dry etch equipment designed or optimized to produce critical dimensions of 65 nm or less; and within-wafer non-uniformity equal to or less than 10% 3σ measured with an edge exclusion of 2 mm or less (U.S. dry etch equipment);
- Names and locations of Chinese companies that produce and export indigenously-produced anisotropic plasma dry etch equipment comparable to U.S. dry etch equipment;
- Chinese production quantities, sales, and/or exports of anisotropic plasma dry etch equipment comparable to U.S. dry etch equipment;
- Data on U.S. imports of Chinese anisotropic plasma dry etch equipment comparable to U.S. dry etch equipment, and/or testing and analysis of such dry etch equipment;
- Estimates of the economic impact on U.S. companies of the export controls on the U.S. dry etch equipment.
(Federal Register 09/08/14)