US new export control to put Communist China on level playing field in the semiconductor industry

On August 22nd, US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an interim final rule that establishes new export controls on four technologies essential to safe guide the national security of the United States under the Wassenaar Arrangement. Additionally, US will control a wider range of technologies, including equipment, software and technology used to produce semiconductors and gas turbine engines. The newly announced export control ruling will effectively push Communist China out of the next generation semiconductor and military competition.

A spokesman from US Commerce for Export Administration expressed that “Global commerce is driven by innovation—new ideas, and novel ways to apply old ones. BIS is vigilant in assessing the development of new technology and whether it may be used for civil and military purposes.” The spokesman also highlighted that to protect the mentioned four technologies from nefarious end use will require a multilateral export control mechanism.

These four technologies include two substrates of ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors: Gallium Oxide (Ga2O3) and diamond which allow semiconductors to work under more severe conditions, such as at higher voltages or higher temperatures. Devices that utilize these materials have significantly increased military potential.
Next is the Electronic Computer-Aided Design (ECAD) software specially designed for the development of integrated circuits with Gate-All Around Field-Effect Transistor (GAAFET) technology. ECAD is a category of software tools used for designing, analysing, optimizing, and validating the performance of integrated circuits or printed circuit boards. This software is used in a variety of applications by the military and aerospace defence industries. The GAAFET approaches are key to scaling to 3 nanometre and below technology nodes. This technologies enable faster, energy efficient, and more radiation-tolerant integrated circuits that can significantly improve commercial as well as military applications.