Intel tests chipmaking tools from sanctioned China-focused tool maker, report claims — move could raise political and national security concerns, firm was backed by CEO Lip-Bu Tan's investment firm

Intel is evaluating wet etch equipment from ACM Research, a U.S.-based maker of fab tools that is primarily focused on China and has extensive operations in the People's Republic, for potential use with its vital process technology, Reuters claims. While Intel tests all kinds of tools from numerous makers of equipment, these particular etching machines raise political and national security concerns. Furthermore, Walden International, a venture capital firm founded and chaired by Intel chief executive Lip Bu Tan, invested in ACM in 2019.

According to sources cited by Reuters, Intel assessed two wet etch tools from ACM Research for use with its crucially important 14A manufacturing process, which is scheduled for an initial rollout in 2027 and which is considered the company's make-or-break foundry effort. Earlier this year, Intel said that if it does not gain at least one big external customer for 14A, it may delay rollout of the production node, or even shelve it. There is no confirmation that the evaluated tools were approved for production use. Nevertheless, Intel's willingness to test equipment from a supplier with sanctioned units certainly raises many political and national security concerns. ACM Research recently confirmed that it had shipped tools to U.S. clients.

"At the same time, we are making important strides in our global expansion efforts, with several tool deliveries planned to the U.S. during the third quarter," said Dr. David Wang, president and chief executive officer of ACM.

Etch systems remove selected materials from a wafer to transfer patterns defined by lithography or to clean and prepare surfaces, using either chemical reactions in liquids (wet etch) or reactive plasmas in vacuum (dry etch).

Wet etch relies on liquid chemistries such as HF for oxide removal or H₃PO₄ to dissolve materials with very high selectivity and no plasma-induced damage. This method is ideal for oxide removal, sacrificial layers, and post-etch cleaning, but it is typically isotropic and attacks the exposed material in all directions evenly, so it can widen features beyond their intended sizes or can completely etch away narrow lines.

Dry etch uses ionized gases and RF power to achieve anisotropic, directional etching with tight critical-dimension control and high aspect ratios at the cost of lower selectivity, higher tool complexity, and potential ion and charging damage. Therefore, modern fabs use both types of etching: dry etch for precise pattern transfer and wet etch for selective removal, cleanup, and surface conditioning. While ACM Research makes world-class dry etch and wet etch tools, so do other prominent companies, such as Applied Materials, KLA, Lam Research, and Tokyo Electron. Testing tools from all suppliers is a natural thing for all chipmakers, but in the case of Intel and ACM Research, questions will be asked.

One interesting wrinkle about ACM Research is that Walden International, a venture capital firm founded and chaired by Lip-Bu Tan (current chief executive of Intel), has previously invested in ACM Research. This investment was made through the Walden CEL Global Fund I, a private equity fund co-sponsored by Walden International and China Everbright Limited, which was established in 2017. As of March 2025, declarations indicate Walden was still invested in ACM, but its current position is unclear. Irregardless, it does not appear to have a major holding in the company.

If it does still have a stake, Lip-Bu Tan could benefit from Intel purchasing tools from ACM Research, primarily through his indirect financial stake in the company via Walden International and Walden CEL Global Fund I. However, the benefit is indirect and not guaranteed as Intel's testing may not lead to large-volume procurements. Furthermore, given the fact that some ACM Research units have already been blacklisted by the U.S. government for CXMT, SMIC, and YMTC ties, future ACM's revenue with certain China-based clients is not guaranteed.

Since ACM Research established its facility near Hillsboro, Oregon, 'strategically located near key customers and partners' in 2023, it is evident that the company has courted Intel for a while. Also, reports suggest that ACM delivered its first tools to Intel's D1D/D1X R&D facility in late 2023 and in 2024, which means that Intel made the decision to work with ACM well before Lip-Bu Tan became its chief executive. Nonetheless, in 2023 – 2024, he was an Intel director.

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