Top Chinese Photoresist Manufacturers Guide

Chinese wafer manufacturers have begun to experiment with Chinese photoresists, which has accelerated the development of China's photoresist to a certain extent. At present, RED AVENUE and Jingrui have supplied many downstream manufacturers, and the photoresist products of Nata, SIN YANG, Kuangshun, PhiChem, and other manufacturers have also accelerated significantly.

Ⅰ What is photoresist?

Photoresist is a pattern transfer medium that uses photochemical reactions to transfer the required fine patterns from the mask to the substrate to be processed through the photolithography process. It is composed of film formers, photosensitizers, solvents and additives, and other major chemical components and other aids. The composition of the agent is widely used in the processing and production of micro-pattern circuits in the optoelectronic information industry. It is a key material for micro-processing technology.

In the photolithography process, the photoresist is uniformly coated on different substrates such as silicon wafers, glass, and metals. After exposure, development, and etching, the pattern on the mask is transferred to the film to form and mask. According to the display effect, photoresist can be divided into positive photoresist and negative photoresists. If the unexposed part is dissolved in the developer during development, the pattern formed is opposite to the mask, which is called negative photoresist. If the exposed part is dissolved in the developer during development, the pattern formed is the same as the mask, which is called a positive photoresist.

According to the classification of exposure wavelength, it can be divided into ultraviolet photoresist (300~450nm), deep ultraviolet photoresist (160~280nm), extreme ultraviolet photoresist (EUV, 13.5nm), electron beam photoresist, ion beam photoresist Resist, X-ray photoresist, etc. Generally speaking, the shorter the wavelength, the better the processing resolution.

Substrate with a layer of photoresist film

According to application scenarios, the three major application areas of photoresists are PCB, LCD, and semiconductor. The photoresist used for PCB and display panel does not require high resolution. At present, photoresists for semiconductors are mainly divided into five categories: g-line photoresist, i-line photoresist, KrF photoresist, ArF photoresist, and EUV photoresist. With the continuous progress of the chip manufacturing process, the requirements for photoresist resolution are getting higher and higher, from micron-level to nano-level etching, and even atomic-level etching in the future.

Main varieties and uses of photoresists:

According to data released by the well-known French research organization-Reportlinker, in 2019, the global photoresist accounted for the largest proportion of the application in the flat panel display (LCD) field, about 27.8%; while the application proportions in the PCB and semiconductor fields were 23% and 21.9% respectively.

Application proportion of photoresist market in 2019:

The raw materials for photoresist production include photoresist resins, monomers, photoinitiators (including photosensitizers, photoacid generators), and other additives. The data shows that resin accounts for 50% of the total cost of photoresists, and it accounts for the largest proportion of photoresist raw materials, followed by monomers accounting for 35% and photoinitiators and other additives accounting for 15%.

Ⅱ What is the market situation?

With the rapid development of the electronic information industry, the total demand for the photoresist market continues to increase. According to Cision data, in 2019, the overall global photoresist market size was 9.1 billion U.S. dollars, and by 2022 it is expected to reach 10.5 billion U.S. dollars, with an average annual compound growth rate of 5%.

As the world's largest importer and exporter of electronic products, China occupies the largest market share of photoresist. The scale of China's photoresist market is expanding rapidly. According to SEMI data, the scale of China's photoresist market has grown from 10 billion yuan in 2015 to 17.6 billion yuan in 2020, with an average annual compound growth rate of 12.0%.

However, due to extremely high industry barriers, the global semiconductor photoresist supply market is highly concentrated, and the core technology is in the hands of a few major international manufacturers. Japan's JSR, Tokyo Onika, Shin-Etsu Chemical, and Fujifilm account for more than 70% of the world. Market share, in a market monopoly position. In the global semiconductor photoresist market, Japanese companies have an absolute monopoly.

Global photoresist market share in 2019:

Chinese photoresist companies lag far behind the world's advanced manufacturers in terms of technology level and market share. At present, although Chinese photoresist products occupy a place in the global low-end market, high-end photoresists basically rely on imports.

From the perspective of market segmentation, in PCB photoresist, wet film and solder mask inks have basically achieved self-sufficiency, with a Chinese conversion rate of over 50%, while dry film photoresist still needs to be imported in large quantities, and the main supply areas are Japan and China Taiwan.

The main production areas of photoresist for flat panel display are Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, China. The localization rate of color photoresist and black photoresist in China is only 5%. After Acquiring LG Chem's business in this sector, Jacques Technology has become China's largest supplier. Most of the production capacity of TFT photoresist in mainland China still depends on imports.

The photoresist for semiconductors has a lower rate of localization in China and is basically monopolized by Japanese companies. China only achieves the localization of g-line, i-line, KrF, and ArF, and most of the supply is g-line and i-line photoresist, while the high-end market EUV photoresist is still in the early stage of development.

Since the end of last year, the supply of photoresist and other raw materials required by integrated circuit companies has been in crisis. Recently, the news of "more than 20 companies chartering "group purchase" of photoresist, anti-reflective film generating fluid and other related materials for integrated circuit manufacturing" has attracted much attention, reflecting the urgency of the market for photoresist.

With the continuous occurrence of the global "core shortage tide" and Japan’s Shin-Etsu Chemical’s supply cuts, Chinese wafer manufacturers have also realized the importance of ensuring the safety of the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain and achieving independent controllability, and have begun to try Chinese photoresists. To a certain extent, it has accelerated the development speed of China's photoresist.

Ⅲ What is the progress of Chinese manufacturers?

Although high-end photoresist technology barriers are relatively high, many manufacturers in China are actively deploying, including RED AVENUE, Jingrui, Nata, SIN YANG, Kuangshun, HMT, and other manufacturers.

RED AVENUE recently stated on the interactive platform that in the first half of 2021, Beijing Kehua, a subsidiary of the company, seized the opportunity of China's related semiconductor photoresist supply shortage and continued to exert efforts in the development of GI lines and KrF photoresist. It was the only China Photoresist Company listed by SEMI, one of the top eight photoresist companies in the world.

In the first half of the year, RED AVENUE cooperated with mainstream Chinese integrated circuit companies such as SMIC, Hua Hong Semiconductor, Huali Microelectronics, Yangtze River Storage, etc., and established 49 R&D projects, of which more than 70% of the projects were customized for 8-inch and 12-inch customer needs. Many new products have been shipped in high volume. All 6-inch customers in China are cooperating or under development. G/I line photoresist has a market share of more than 60% in the 6-inch market; the number of 8-inch users has increased to 15, and the number of 12-inch customers has increased to 8 for many years. Stable mass production and supply to downstream customers.

The heavy volume of products has also driven its rapid growth. In the first half of the year, Beijing Kehua Semiconductor's photoresist business achieved an operating income of RMB 56.4783 million, an increase of 46.74% year-on-year. G/I line photoresist products for semiconductors increased by 40.36% year-on-year, and KrF photoresist products year-on-year An increase of 94.51%. In the first half of the year, 10 new products including KrF photoresist, high-end I-line photoresist, and chemically amplified I-line photoresist were added to users such as Yangtze River Storage, SMIC North, Guangzhou Yuexin, Xiamen Silanjike, etc. Order.

As one of the photoresist manufacturers with the longest history and the largest supply in China, Jingrui has a complete product sequence, industrialization scale, and profitability at the leading level in the industry. Among them, the g/i line photoresist has been sold to SMIC, Hefei Changxin and other well-known large-size semiconductor manufacturers supply it. KrF (248nm deep-ultraviolet) photoresist has completed the pilot test and has entered the customer test stage. After the test is passed, it can enter the mass production stage. The R&D of ArF high-end photoresist has been officially launched, aiming to develop ArF (193nm) photoresist that meets the 90-28nm chip process and meets the current market demand for key materials in the integrated circuit industry.

Nata said that the company has built an ArF photoresist production line with an annual output of 25 tons. It has signed a small batch order and has not yet started mass production. And SIN YANG also stated that the KrF photoresist products independently developed by the company have passed customer certification and successfully obtained orders. In addition, the photoresist products of Kuangshun and PhiChem are in the sample delivery stage.

In terms of lithographic collagen materials, Chinese manufacturers are also accelerating their deployment. For example, HMT cut into the field of photoresist monomers by investing in Xuzhou Bokang. Xuzhou Bokang’s main monomer products cover 5 types of ArF wet process monomers, 5 types of ArF dry process monomers, and 6 types of KrF monomers. In the first half of 2021, its KrF photoresist monomer and ArF photoresist monomer products supplied to a customer reached RMB 12.85 million. In terms of photoresist products, Xuzhou Bokang supplies 4 types of KrF photoresist to a radio frequency chip manufacturer distributor. In cooperation with a special memory chip manufacturer, Xuzhou Bokang has already supplied ArF photoresist in small quantities.

In the monomer field, Wanrun (ArF/KrF glue monomer), Ruilian New Material, and Microcore New Material (KrF glue monomer) have also been put into production, but the volume is not large. In the resin field, although Shengquan Group is a phenolic resin company, its main application field is still in the field of non-electronic materials.

In the field of photoinitiators, Qiangli New Materials has certain market competitiveness. Its main business is photoresist photoinitiators, and the production capacity of photoinitiators for photoresists alone is nearly 1,600 tons per year. In China, Jiangsu Hualun, Jiangsu Tianyin Chemical, Baichuan Co., Ltd., and Yida Co., Ltd. all have large-scale production of electronic grade propylene glycol methyl ether acetate.

On the whole, China's semiconductor photoresist has gradually achieved technological breakthroughs, and g/i line photoresist has gradually formed a production capacity; KrF photoresist is in the stage of mass supply, ArF photoresist is in the verification and introduction stage, EUV lithography Glue is still in the preliminary stage of research and development. As Chinese companies continue to make major breakthroughs in high-end photoresist products, the process of substitution in China will be accelerated.