How to break through the Chinese photoresist market?

Photoresist, a key material in chip manufacturing.

In order to break the international monopoly, Chinese companies have made significant progress in research and development.

However, compared to Japan, there is still a significant gap in Chinese photoresist technology.

What are the key differences?

And how can Chinese companies break through?

I. Localization of Photoresist

Photoresist, as the name suggests, is a polymer film material used in the photolithography process of lithography machines. It is directly translated into English as photoresist, which undergoes polymerization or depolymerization reactions under exposure to ultraviolet light, electron beams, ion beams, X-rays, etc., leaving patterns on silicon wafers.

Working principle of photoresist

When we talk about photoresist, it is actually a general term for a category of products.

Based on the formed image, there are two main types: positive and negative. Further classification is based on different exposure light sources and radiation sources, such as ultraviolet photoresist, deep ultraviolet photoresist, X-ray resist, electron beam resist, ion beam resist, etc.

Wafer after photolithography

Each type has positive and negative distinctions as mentioned earlier, with many varieties and specifications, making the corresponding formulas and production techniques quite complex. However, they generally consist of three components: photosensitive resin, sensitizer, and solvent.

Photoresist is widely used in the processing of fine patterns on display panels, integrated circuits, semiconductor discrete devices, and more. Downstream products range from processors in smartphones to sensors in medical devices, and even control systems in spacecraft... covering a wide range of applications.

Especially for the production of precision manufacturing and miniaturized equipment, photoresist is crucial.

Photoresist is an essential fine chemical for the source of intelligent equipment, and its performance directly affects the production capacity and quality of end products.

The market size of photoresist is roughly equivalent to the manufacturing capacity of intelligent equipment, and its research and improvement are key indicators of semiconductor technology level.

Recognizing the importance of photoresist, China has attached great importance to the development of the photoresist industry in the past two decades, actively providing policy support and striving for localization.

As early as the 12th Five-Year Plan period, 16 national key scientific and technological projects were listed, with "Large-scale Integrated Circuit Manufacturing Equipment and Complete Process" ranking second, known as the "02 Project".

The "Large-scale Integrated Circuit Manufacturing Equipment and Complete Process" is included in the national key scientific research project.

Ten years have passed, and the "02 Project" has borne fruit.

At the end of 2020, Nanda Optoelectronics announced that its holding subsidiary "Ningbo Nanda Optoelectronics" independently developed ArF photoresist products successfully passed customer certification. "This certification selected the control gate of the customer's 50nm flash memory product for verification. Ningbo Nanda Optoelectronics' ArF photoresist product testing met all process specification requirements, and the yield results met the standard."

The ultra-fine photoresist project passed the 02 project acceptance in May 2018. By the end of 2019, Guoke Tianji Company, with the R&D team as the technical backbone, was established in Binzhou to carry out small-scale production of high-end photoresists and related organic wet electronic chemicals.

In 2021, Guoke Tianji conducted trial production of high-end photoresists in the Binzhou production park.

News Report

Xuzhou Bokang has successfully developed a series of products including ArF/KrF monomers, photoresists, I-line photoresists, packaging photoresists, and electron beam photoresists.

Recently, Wuhan Taiziwei Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd. launched the T150 A photoresist product, which has passed semiconductor process mass production verification, achieving fully independent formula design.

Currently, dozens of domestic companies have entered the field of photoresists, increasing the domestication rate of photoresists in just a few years, and the market output value has also grown rapidly.

For example, in the PCB photoresist field, the domestication rate has reached 63%, and wet film and solder resist inks can basically achieve self-sufficiency;

In the LCD photoresist field, the domestication of touch screen photoresists is gradually replacing imports, and the current domestication rate can reach 30% to 40%.

The progress in the domestication of photoresists is indeed significant.

II. Gap with Japan

Seeing progress is important, but recognizing the gap is equally crucial.

In terms of scale, the domestic photoresist market is expected to be around 12.1 billion yuan in 2023, with an average compound growth rate of 10% over the next 5 years, exceeding the global average growth rate. However, the market share accounts for less than 20% of the global market.

In terms of categories, the domestication rate of high-end photoresists in China is extremely low. For example, the most advanced EUV photoresists required for 7nm technology have an optimistic domestication rate of less than 1%.

In comparison with Japan, the gap is particularly pronounced.

Among the top five global photoresist manufacturers, four are Japanese, with JSR, Tokyo Ohka, Shin-Etsu Chemical, and Fujifilm holding over 70% of the global photoresist market.

Especially in the highest-end ArF and EUV fields, Japanese companies have a market share of over 90%! International Market Share of Japanese Photoresist in 2022

Not only in market share, Japanese companies are also far ahead in terms of patent applications and technological level in the field of photoresist worldwide.

According to data from September 2021, Japan's patent applications for photoresist accounted for 46% of the global total in this field, ranking first, followed by the United States at 25%.

China, on the other hand, only accounts for 7%, ranking fourth globally after South Korea.

In 2023, there were a total of 5483 photoresist patents globally, with Japan holding a monopoly of 63%.

It can be said that the gap between Chinese companies and Japanese companies in the field of photoresist is comprehensive.

So, why are Japanese photoresist companies so strong?

There are many articles online that have answered this question, mostly analyzing from the perspectives of early establishment, government support, and talent cultivation.

Here, instead of covering all aspects, we provide an observational perspective:

Barriers.

In simple terms, Japanese photoresist companies first established technological barriers, then industry barriers, and finally industrial barriers.

Let's first look at technological barriers.

As early as the 1960s, Japan organized technological research and development, achieving proprietary knowledge of photoresist - Tokyo Ohka Kogyo developed the first cyclized rubber-based photoresist product MOR-81 in 1968.

By the 1970s, Japanese photoresist had been commercialized successively, with several giants mastering core technologies.

Starting in the 1990s, they continued to break through high-end technologies, initially building technological barriers.

Timeline of Japanese photoresist technology development

Next, let's look at industry barriers.

Behind Japanese companies, there is often the shadow of conglomerates.

The chemical industry is a key industry where Japanese conglomerates are heavily invested. The relationships between conglomerates are complex and not purely competitive.

On the surface, the major Japanese photoresist leading companies appear independent. In reality, they focus on different sub-sectors, cooperate in groups, and form industry barriers.

Lastly, let's look at industrial barriers.

Photoresist is a key material in a critical industry, once used, it is not easily replaced.

Japanese photoresist companies got involved in wafer production early on, collaborated in research and development, and developed photoresist tailored to the specific requirements of wafer factories.

Subsequently, they produced photoresist that highly matched the photoresist machines and production conditions of wafer factories, specialized and irreplaceable.

As a result, unless there are huge uncontrollable factors, wafer factories do not want and dare not replace Japanese companies' photoresist.

Japanese photoresist companies deeply cooperate with downstream wafer factories, embed themselves in the entire industry ecosystem, and build an unbreakable industrial barrier, making their dominant position extremely stable.

III. Breakthrough in the Industry Chain

China still has a long way to go if it wants to take the initiative in the field of photoresist and break the monopoly First of all, we need to increase research and development efforts to master core technologies.

The industry nature of photoresist itself is complex. In order to break the monopoly and shorten the gap with Japanese enterprises, Chinese companies are making multi-directional efforts in research and development.

The highest-end EUV photoresists mainly have two types: one is chemical amplification type, and the other is metal oxide.

In April this year, a joint research team from Jiufengshan Laboratory in Hubei and Huazhong University of Science and Technology successfully broke through the technology of "chemically amplified photoresist with synergistic enhancement of dual non-ionic photoacid response".

Research team's published paper

This type of photoresist can generate more acid after exposure, thereby improving imaging quality, reducing line width roughness, and adapting to more advanced and complex integrated circuit manufacturing processes with higher sensitivity and resolution.

In the field of new photoresist development, Chinese research teams are also making breakthroughs.

Currently, one of the technical difficulties of photoresists in the top EUV lithography machines is the general lack of sensitivity to light sources, which not only restricts production yield but also increases the manufacturing difficulty and cost of lithography machines and their supporting light sources.

In October last year, a joint team from Tsinghua University and Zhejiang University globally proposed the new method of "click lithography" for the first time and successfully developed matching ultra-high photosensitive photoresist samples.

Team's published paper

This new type of photoresist material can achieve high contrast imaging at extremely low exposure doses, greatly reducing the exposure dose of lithography and improving lithography efficiency.

Secondly, photoresist technology needs to be industrialized as soon as possible.

Whether photoresists can succeed, technological breakthroughs are just one aspect. It is not only about patents and papers, but ultimately depends on the situation of landing in the industry.

In addition to companies like Nanda Optoelectronics and National Science Tianji mentioned earlier, there are many other photoresist companies in China. In the A-share market, there are currently about 20 photoresist-related stocks, representing the backbone of China's photoresist industry.

Finally, we need to establish an industrial ecosystem for photoresists.

In addition to technological breakthroughs and industrialization, analyzing Japan's experience shows that it is more important to form its own industrial ecosystem system - deep cooperation with downstream companies is essential.

To put it bluntly, we need to have our own lithography machines.

Just like the large aircraft industry chain, only when China can manufacture large aircraft, sell large aircraft, and have a place for domestically produced large aircraft components, can the relevant upstream industries flourish Otherwise, having only technology is useless. Holding onto technology without being able to translate it into practical use will slowly become outdated and eliminated.

Developing one's own lithography machine is indeed the most difficult task.

The global lithography industry is dominated by companies from the United States and Japan. Dutch company ASML provides 92% of the world's high-end lithography machines.

Market share of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Image source: Nikkei Chinese website

Currently, the domestication rate of lithography machines in China is less than 3%. In 2023, the number of imported lithography machines reached as high as 225 units, with an import value of $8.754 billion, setting a new historical record for import value.

In terms of products, only Shanghai Microelectronics can manufacture DUV lithography machines at the 90nm process node, with a significant gap compared to ASML.

No matter how difficult it is, we must strive to make progress.

Looking from a different perspective, the development of domestic lithography photoresists cannot be achieved alone and requires an overall breakthrough in the industry chain.

For the development of lithography photoresists and the semiconductor industry, we must have confidence and, more importantly, patience