8541.30.00.40 - Unmounted chips, dice and wafers

This HTS category, 8541.30.00.40, specifically encompasses unmounted chips, dice, and wafers that fall within the broader classification of semiconductor devices. These are the fundamental, unpackaged building blocks of integrated circuits and other semiconductor components. They represent the silicon or other semiconductor material after it has been processed through lithography, etching, and doping stages but before it has been individually singulated, packaged, and tested for commercial use. Examples include bare silicon dice intended for further processing into transistors, diodes, or microprocessors, as well as semiconductor wafers prior to dicing.

This specific classification distinguishes itself from its sibling category, 8541.30.00.80, which covers "other" similar items not fitting the precise definition of unmounted chips, dice, and wafers. While both deal with semiconductor components in a relatively raw state, 8541.30.00.40 is reserved for the discrete, unpackaged semiconductor elements themselves, whereas the "other" category might include such items as specific types of raw semiconductor materials or partially processed substrates that do not precisely meet the definition of a chip, die, or wafer. The primary differentiating factor is the stage of processing and the discrete nature of the semiconductor element being classified.

As this is a leaf node within the HTS, there are no further subcategories. Therefore, the focus for classification under 8541.30.00.40 is on ensuring the item is indeed an unmounted semiconductor component, such as a bare die or a wafer, intended for use in the fabrication of electronic devices, and not a fully assembled, packaged, or tested semiconductor device or a raw material. The key is the absence of protective packaging and the direct representation of the active semiconductor circuitry in its most basic form.