Attention! The largest offensive in our semiconductor industry is about to begin. According to the latest media reports, our country’s largest semiconductor fund, the “Third Phase of the Big Fund,” which exceeds the total scale of the previous two phases, will make its first major investments in the coming months.The focus of the investment is expected to be concentrated in two key areas: photolithography machines and chip design software, aiming to break through technological constraints.As we all know, photolithography machines are at the pinnacle of semiconductor technology. In the entire integrated circuit process, photolithography is the most core and complex process step, and photolithography machines are also the most expensive equipment for integrated circuit manufacturing, with a level of technical difficulty and price that is rare globally.They utilize optical principles to transfer circuit patterns onto silicon wafers, determining the minimum feature size and density of transistors.In the integrated circuit manufacturing process, the cost of photolithography accounts for about 1/3 of the manufacturing cost, and the time spent accounts for approximately 40% to 50%.
Currently, the global high-end photolithography machine market is monopolized by ASML. From the market structure perspective, the market scale of high-end EUV and DUV photolithography machines is continuously increasing, while our domestic production rate in areas such as complete photolithography machines and optical systems is still very low. Therefore, we need to achieve breakthroughs in domestic production, and the entire photolithography machine industry chain is expected to welcome a development opportunity.For example, the leading company in the domestic PCB photolithography resin field is Rongda; the only domestic supplier capable of EUV photolithography gas and indirect supply is Kaime, breaking the monopoly of the US and Japan, and becoming a qualified supplier for top global photolithography machine manufacturers;Additionally, Maolai Optical provides various core optical components in the photolithography machine industry chain;the last one is impressive, as it is the only domestic precision cleaning equipment supplier certified by ASML, and has deep cooperation with Shanghai Microelectronics, with orders for photolithography cleaning equipment in 2024 expected to increase by 230% year-on-year; so who exactly is it? You can scan the QR code below to find out.The entry of the Third Phase of the Big Fund can support long-term capital, integrate the fragmented supply chain of photolithography systems, thereby promoting the integration and verification of complete machines, and taking our photolithography technology to a new level.That’s all for today regarding photolithography machines. Thank you for your attention.
