The production of modern microchips requires the creation of extreme vacuum conditions. This vacuum is necessary to prevent contamination, ensure high-precision etching, and stabilize plasma, which is critically important for producing chips with sub-nanometer dimensions.
Modern chip fabrication would be impossible without such extreme vacuum environments, although the general public rarely considers the vacuum infrastructure underlying the processors that power the artificial intelligence revolution. Every key stage in semiconductor creation—from thin film deposition to etching and ion implantation—depends on low-pressure chambers that provide precise control and eliminate contaminants, allowing for atomic accuracy.
The primary function of vacuum is purity control. Even a tiny dust particle several thousand nanometers in diameter can destroy a chip circuit where conductor widths are measured in tens of nanometers. Vacuum chambers isolate the silicon wafer from the external atmosphere, thereby eliminating the problem of particles at its source. However, vacuum also serves other functions. During thin film deposition and etching, trace amounts of oxygen or water vapor cause side reactions, oxidize surfaces, corrode circuits, and introduce impurities. Manufacturers can only guarantee that chemical reactions proceed as intended after removing all reactive molecules and subsequently introducing highly pure process gases under precise control.
Beam methods make vacuum even more critical. During lithography and ion implantation, beams must travel from sources to the wafer without colliding with air molecules. Any collision leads to energy absorption, beam scattering, and distortion of the circuit pattern at the nanometer level. Vacuum eliminates these collisions, ensuring that beams hit targets with sub-nanometer precision. Furthermore, plasma processes cannot be stably created at atmospheric pressure; only under medium vacuum can electric fields reliably accelerate electrons and maintain stable plasma for etching and deposition.
The spectrum of vacuum used in chip manufacturing ranges from low vacuum, applied for rough processing, to ultra-high vacuum, approaching space conditions. EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography systems, which are the most advanced tools for chip fabrication, operate in such extreme vacuum conditions that light with a wavelength of 13.5 nm would be completely absorbed by air at atmospheric pressure. The entire optical path from the plasma light source through numerous mirrors to the wafer must be maintained in ultra-high vacuum, requiring vacuum pump systems capable of creating and sustaining conditions where the mean free path of remaining gas molecules is measured in kilometers, not millimeters.
Vacuum technologies have become a strategic bottleneck in semiconductor manufacturing, especially as China seeks to develop its own chip production base. Advanced vacuum pump systems, chamber materials, and process control algorithms are crucial enabling technologies historically controlled by Japanese and European suppliers. The drive for self-sufficiency in semiconductors has stimulated significant Chinese investment in developing domestic vacuum equipment, recognizing that the ability to create and maintain extreme vacuum environments is as fundamental to chip production as lithography machines or deposition tools. Essentially, every modern chip fabrication plant is an assembly of precisely connected vacuum chambers, where human-designed emptiness forms the basis for the most complex manufacturing process ever conceived.
DeepSeek, a Chinese startup specializing in artificial intelligence, is investing in the development of its own semiconductor. This new chip's main objective is to execute AI models, thereby reducing the company's dependence on established suppliers such as Nvidia and Huawei.
According to information reported by Reuters, sources close to the matter indicate that DeepSeek is working on a semiconductor dedicated to inference, not the training of new models. This initiative aims to create an internal solution for a stage that has gained great relevance with the proliferation of AI applications.
This move reflects a trend observed in the sector, where various companies are seeking greater control over the equipment necessary to keep their systems operational. Specialized chips, moreover, promise to offer better operational efficiency compared to general-purpose components.
The main targets of this type of semiconductor include reducing dependence on external semiconductor suppliers, meeting the growing processing volume required by AI, increasing control over technological infrastructure, and creating alternatives against restrictions imposed by the United States on advanced chips.
Currently, DeepSeek uses chips supplied by Nvidia and Huawei. Its R1 model, which generated significant buzz in the technology market in January 2025 due to its low operating cost, was trained using Nvidia's H800, a component made for the Chinese market but subsequently banned by the US.
With American restrictions, Huawei has managed to gain ground in the domestic AI chip market. Simultaneously, competitors like Alibaba and Baidu have begun developing their own components to participate in this segment. DeepSeek has also been seeking partnerships with chip design companies, semiconductor manufacturers, and memory companies to boost its project, discreetly increasing the hiring of specialized engineers.
Liang Wenfeng, founder of DeepSeek, had mentioned in an interview given in 2024 that chip export controls represented a significant obstacle for the company.
Developing a competitive chip in the market requires years of dedication, high investment, and access to cutting-edge manufacturing technologies. The latter aspect constitutes one of the biggest challenges for Chinese companies, which face limitations regarding strategic equipment and components.
Nvidia remains unavailable in China. DeepSeek has very few chances of commercializing its chips outside of China unless it can gain access to top-tier manufacturing technologies.
Parallel to the search for technological autonomy, DeepSeek is undergoing a financial restructuring. According to Reuters, the company plans to raise US$7 billion in an initial round, with an estimated valuation between US$52 billion and US$59 billion.
This endeavor demonstrates that competition in the artificial intelligence area is expanding across the entire technological chain, covering everything from consumer-used models to the essential chips for their operation.
