Market size and landscape of the seven major semiconductor materials

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This post was last edited by AggregationCat_IEB8P on 2020-7-1 at 13:53. Semiconductors are indispensable materials for modern electronic products; they have facilitated the development of various industries such as communications, computing, healthcare, transportation, and new energy. As a strategic, fundamental, and pioneering industry that underpins economic and social development as well as ensures **security, China’s semiconductor industry has experienced rapid growth. In such an important semiconductor industry, what are the semiconductor materials? The semiconductor material industry chain: The upstream part of this industry chain includes semiconductor materials and semiconductor equipment. Semiconductors are primarily used in the manufacture of optoelectronic devices, discrete components, integrated circuits, sensors, etc., while their downstream applications are mainly found in communications, healthcare, computers, and other fields. By 2019, the market size of downstream applications in the semiconductor industry had exceeded 1.68 trillion US dollars. With the continued development of China’s semiconductor industry, its scale and share in the global market will further increase. https://image.juhecat.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/WechatIMG669.png?x-oss-process=image%2Fformat,webp Introduction to one of the semiconductor materials: silicon wafers. Silicon wafers are crucial materials for manufacturing integrated circuits; they are thin slices cut from single-crystal silicon. Based on the diameter of the silicon wafers, they are classified into 6-inch, 8-inch, 12-inch, and other specifications. Silicon wafers with a diameter greater than 200 mm (8 inches) are generally referred to as large silicon wafers. Involves the semiconductor industry chain: pulling single crystals, cutting, etc. Global market size: $12.1 billion, accounting for 38% of global market sales. Current landscape: Domestic semiconductor material companies mainly supply production lines of 6 inches or less, with a small number of them beginning to enter the supply chains for 8-inch and 12-inch production lines. Domestic manufacturing enterprises: Shanghai XinYang, Zhonghuan Co., Ltd., HSMC, etc. Semiconductor Materials II: Introduction to Electron Gas – Electron gas is a special type of gas used in semiconductor applications such as integrated circuits and new display technologies. Involves the semiconductor industry chain: oxidation, etching, ion implantation, chemical vapor deposition, etc. Global market size: $4.3 billion; it accounts for 13% of the global market sales. Current situation: In the high-end application sector of China’s integrated circuit industry, overseas major gas companies hold over 80% of the market share. Especially in cutting-edge application fields such as very large-scale integrated circuits, import restrictions are particularly severe. Domestic manufacturers: Yak Technology, Walter Gas, WuHua Technology, Jinhong Gas, Nanda Optoelectronics, Juhua Co., Ltd., etc. Semiconductor Materials Part 3: Introduction to Photoresists – Photoresists are media used for transferring intricate patterns through chemical reactions; they are light-sensitive liquid mixtures composed of three main components: a photosensitive resin, a sensitizer (see spectral sensitizing dyes), and a solvent. Involves the semiconductor industry chain: applying photoresist, etc. Global market size: $1.7 billion, accounting for 5% of global market sales. Current landscape: High-end photoresists are dominated by multinational companies, with some domestic firms entering the first-tier and G-series markets in this sector. Domestic companies have not yet made any moves into photoresists for next-generation technologies such as EUV. Domestic manufacturing enterprises: Jingrui Co., Ltd., Shanghai Xinyang, Nata Opto-Electronics, etc. Semiconductor Materials IV: Introduction to Resist Supporting Reagents: The electronic chemicals used in the lithography process include diluents, developing solutions, rinsing solutions, stripping solutions, etc. These resist supporting reagents are used in conjunction with photoresists. It involves the semiconductor industry chain: processes such as coating photoresist and developing. The global market size is 2.2 billion dollars, accounting for 7% of the total global sales in this sector. Current landscape: In the market for supporting reagents, traditional European and American companies, as well as Japanese companies, hold market shares of around 35% and 28%, respectively, while companies from South Korea, Taiwan, China, and domestic Chinese firms account for approximately 35% of the market share. Domestic manufacturers: Jianghua Micro, Jingrui Co., Ltd. Semiconductor Materials V: Introduction to Targets: A target is the material that is bombarded by a high-velocity ion beam during the sputtering process; it serves as the raw material for depositing thin films. Involves the semiconductor industry chain: processes such as metal sputtering. Global market size: 1 billion US dollars, accounting for 3% of the total global market sales. Current situation: China is highly dependent on imports for ultra-high-purity metal materials and sputtering targets, although some companies have managed to make breakthroughs in this area. Domestic manufacturing enterprises: Jiangfeng Electronics, GRINM Advanced Materials, Ashichuang, Longhua Technology, etc. Semiconductor Materials No. 6: Introduction to CMP Materials: CMP stands for Chemical Mechanical Polishing, and it is a polishing method that combines chemical etching with mechanical grinding. It is currently the only practical and essential technology capable of achieving global flatness of wafers. CMP materials include polishing pads and slurries. Involves the semiconductor industry chain: chemical mechanical polishing, etc. Global market size: $2.2 billion, accounting for 7% of global market sales. Current landscape: Semiconductor CMP polishing pads rely almost 100% on imports, with Dow Chemical holding an 80% market share. CMP polishing slurries are mainly dominated by companies such as Cabot, with domestic firms having made some breakthroughs. Domestic manufacturers: Jiangfeng Electronics, Dinglong Shares, Anji Technology, etc. Semiconductor Materials No. 7: Introduction to Wet Electronic Chemicals: These refer to chemical reagents in which the particle size is kept below 0.5 um, and the impurity content is below the ppm level (10⁻⁶ is ppm, 10⁻⁹ is pb, and 10⁻¹² is pt). They represent the type of chemical reagents with the strictest requirements regarding particle size control and impurity levels. Such reagents include ultra-pure high-purity acids and bases, ultra-pure high-purity organic solvents, and ultra-pure high-purity etchants. It involves the semiconductor industry chain: surface cleaning, etching, development, film removal, doping, etc. Global market size: $2 billion, accounting for 6% of global market sales. Current landscape: Traditional European and American companies hold a market share of around 35% in the wet electronic chemicals sector; nearly 10 Japanese companies account for about 28% of this market share, while companies from South Korea, Taiwan, China, and domestic Chinese firms together hold around 35% of the market share. In China, most ultra-pure reagents for 8-inch and larger ICs rely on imports. Domestic manufacturers include Jianghua Micro, Jingrui Shares, Anji Technology, Xinzhoubang, Xingfa Group Binhua Shares, Duofuduo, Juhua Shares, and others. In summary, China has become the world’s largest semiconductor consumer market, with a semiconductor market size of over 400 billion – a truly enormous market that will drive rapid development in semiconductor materials.