Huawei's SMIC Chip Outperforms Intel
Huawei's Kirin 9030 Pro chip, made by SMIC, has a tighter metal pitch than Intel's 18A node, sparking debate in the semiconductor industry
Key points
- SMIC's N+3 manufacturing process achieves a 32.5 nm minimum metal pitch, outperforming Intel's 18A node at 36 nm
- The Kirin 9030 Pro chip has a transistor density of approximately 113.4 million transistors per square millimeter
- Intel's 18A node has a roughly 38% higher transistor density than SMIC's N+3 process
- The comparison has sparked caution among semiconductor experts, who note it only tells part of the story
- The findings were published by SemiAnalysis on June 14, 2026, from its new STEEL facility in Hillsboro, Oregon
Introduction
The global semiconductor debate has been reignited with the release of a fresh teardown of the Kirin 9030 Pro. Chip research firm SemiAnalysis has discovered that SMIC's N+3 manufacturing process achieves a tighter local metal pitch than Intel's 18A node.
Findings
The key numbers from the teardown include a minimum metal pitch of 32.5 nm for SMIC's N+3 process and 36 nm for Intel's 18A node. The transistor density of the Kirin 9030 Pro chip is approximately 113.4 million transistors per square millimeter.
Implications
The comparison has sparked caution among semiconductor experts, who note that it only tells part of the story. While SMIC's N+3 process has outperformed Intel's 18A node in terms of metal pitch, Intel's node has a roughly 38% higher transistor density.
Sources
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