Understanding Domestic Semiconductor Materials: Silicon Wafers, Photoresists, and Specialty Gases in One Day

Domestic Semiconductors

Material Introduction

Disclaimer: The following content does not constitute any investment advice, guidance, or commitment, and is for academic discussion only.

Domestic semiconductor materials refer to key foundational materials independently developed and produced by domestic manufacturers for the entire chip manufacturing process (silicon wafers, photoresists, CMP, target materials, etc.). They are crucial for replacing imports and ensuring the safety and controllability of the domestic semiconductor industry chain.

Silicon Wafers

Silicon wafers are circular thin slices made by slicing and polishing high-purity silicon rods, serving as the “foundation” for chip manufacturing, where all transistors and circuits are processed on their surface and within. The core companies are summarized as follows:Shanghai Silicon IndustryCompany’s main business includes semiconductor silicon wafers, contract processing services, and other businesses. The “semiconductor silicon wafer” business continues to increase its share, with a year-on-year growth of 12.5% in the first half of 2025, showing significant growth in overseas markets, although the gross margin remains in a loss state.Liang MicroLiang Micro focuses on the R&D and manufacturing of semiconductor materials for integrated circuits, with main products including 6-inch to 12-inch semiconductor silicon wafers, widely used in 5G communications, new energy vehicles, artificial intelligence, and other fields. Its subsidiary, Zhejiang Jinruihong Technology Co., Ltd., is one of the first companies in China to achieve mass production of 8-inch silicon epitaxial wafers and has a global leading advantage in the technology of heavily doped 12-inch silicon wafers.TCL ZhonghuanTCL Zhonghuan focuses on monocrystalline silicon, with a product matrix covering photovoltaic silicon wafers, batteries, and components, and actively participates in the development and operation of efficient photovoltaic power stations. Its leading 210 large-size silicon wafer technology has significant technical advantages in the photovoltaic industry, achieving a comprehensive market share of 23.5% in the first half of 2024, ranking among the industry leaders.Shengong Co., Ltd.The company is currently promoting the R&D and market certification of 8-inch lightly doped low-defect polished silicon wafers, targeting customers including TSMC, SMIC, and other integrated circuit manufacturers. This business is still in the process of optimizing technology and customer certification, and the actual products have not yet achieved large-scale profitability.Zhijing TechnologyThe company focuses on the field of semiconductor silicon materials, with products covering semiconductor ingots, grinding wafers, polishing wafers, and chip components, widely used in power devices (such as diodes, rectifier bridges) and sensor manufacturing.Jingsheng ElectromechanicalJingsheng Electromechanical focuses on the field of semiconductor material equipment, developing an 8-inch single-wafer silicon epitaxy growth furnace that is compatible with the growth of 6-inch and 8-inch silicon wafers, featuring stable structure and good film thickness uniformity. This equipment is mainly used for semiconductor material production, promoting the large-scale application of integrated circuit-level large-size silicon wafers.

Photoresists

Photoresists are core organic polymers in the semiconductor photolithography process, forming nano-scale patterns after exposure and development, determining the fineness and yield of chip circuits.

Jingrui Electric Materials

Jingrui Electric Materials is a technology-based enterprise focusing on semiconductor materials and new energy fields, with products mainly including photoresists, high-purity wet chemicals, lithium battery materials, etc. As a key material in semiconductor manufacturing, photoresists are used for precise transfer of chip patterns, and Jingrui Electric Materials has formed technical capabilities covering the entire series of products including G-line, I-line, KrF, and ArF.

Nanda Optoelectronics

Nanda Optoelectronics has undertaken the national “02 Special Project” since 2017, and after five years of R&D, has developed the first domestically verified ArF photoresist, compatible with 90nm to 14nm processes, and continues to advance towards more advanced processes. Its 8nm electron beam photoresist achieved a yield of 92% on Huawei’s “Xizhi” equipment, with a defect density of less than 0.1 per square millimeter, with technical indicators matching international top levels.

Shanghai Xinyang

Shanghai Xinyang’s KrF photoresist has achieved mass sales of multiple products, and its ArF immersion photoresist has also received sales orders. As of the first half of 2025, the company has become the benchmark material supplier for 56 domestic 12-inch and 23 8-inch integrated circuit production lines, with market shares exceeding 70% and 60% respectively.

Tongcheng New Materials

Tongcheng New Materials focuses on the R&D and production of semiconductor photoresists through its subsidiary Beijing Kehua, leading in the domestic market share of KrF photoresists, with ArF photoresists having passed customer verification and achieved mass production, and EUV photoresist R&D progressing smoothly. Its products cover mainstream processes such as deep ultraviolet KrF and ArF, and actively participate in the R&D of next-generation lithography technologies.

Huamao Technology

Huamao Technology is laying out the photoresist field through its stake in Xuzhou Bokan (shareholding ratio undisclosed). Xuzhou Bokan is a leading domestic IC photoresist company, with ArF immersion photoresist and dry ArF photoresist technologies, covering 28-45nm processes.

Specialty Gases

Specialty gases are high-purity gases used in semiconductor manufacturing for etching, deposition, ion implantation, and other processes, with their purity and stability directly determining chip yield and performance.

China Shipbuilding Specialty Gases

China Shipbuilding Specialty Gases’ main business covers over 90 types of specialty gas products, including ultra-high-purity nitrogen trifluoride (annual production capacity of 18,500 tons), tungsten hexafluoride (2,000 tons/year), etc., widely used in integrated circuits, display panels, and other semiconductor manufacturing processes, directly serving globally renowned companies such as TSMC and SMIC.

Haohua Technology

Haohua Technology has a complete industrial chain in the specialty gas field, covering the R&D and production of etching cleaning gases, ion implantation gases, doping gases, and other products. Its subsidiary Haohua Gas has achieved large-scale production of nitrogen trifluoride, tungsten hexafluoride, and other products, entering the supply chains of more than ten semiconductor companies including SMIC and Changxin Storage.

Huate Gas

Huate Gas is a core enterprise in the specialty gas field, focusing on the R&D, production, and sales of specialty gases, with its products widely used in the integrated circuit, display panel, and other semiconductor industry chains.

Yake Technology

Yake Technology focuses on the R&D of semiconductor chemical materials, photoresists, and supporting reagents, with related products widely used in chip manufacturing and wafer fab production lines. For example, its SOD products have entered the SK Hynix 28nm DRAM supply chain and plan to expand the TSMC supply chain through the acquisition of Sichuan Kemeite. Additionally, the company is also laying out the production of high-purity electronic gases such as electrolytic hydrogen fluoride to reduce costs and enhance industry competitiveness.

Kaimeite Gas

Kaimeite Gas is accelerating its layout in the specialty gas field starting in 2024, constructing two specialty gas projects in Yueyang and Yizhang, with products covering high-purity carbon dioxide, rare gas mixtures (krypton-xenon mixtures), laser mixtures, as well as high-purity hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, etc. Some products have passed international certifications from ASML, Air Liquide, etc., entering the global semiconductor supply chain.

Ceramic Components

Advanced ceramics/ceramic components are corrosion-resistant, high thermal conductivity, and high insulation structural parts made from high-purity inorganic non-metallic powders through precision forming and high-temperature sintering, used in key processes such as etching, deposition, and ion implantation in semiconductor equipment for load-bearing, protection, and thermal management.

Kema Technology

Kema Technology is a leading enterprise in the field of advanced ceramic materials and components in China, focusing on the manufacturing of alumina ceramic components, whose product costs account for over 10% of key components in semiconductor equipment, achieving overseas scale sales.

China Ceramic Electronics

China Ceramic Electronics is a core supplier in the electronic ceramics field, with precision ceramic components made from advanced ceramic materials such as alumina and aluminum nitride, processed for use in key semiconductor equipment, including ceramic rings, heating plates, and electrostatic chucks in etching machines and photolithography machines. These products feature high strength, corrosion resistance, and high precision, with core technologies reaching international levels.

Sanhuan Group

Sanhuan Group focuses on electronic components as its core business, with products such as fiber optic ceramic connectors and multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) listed as “national manufacturing single champion products.” Fiber optic connectors are used for precise physical connections in optical communications, while MLCCs are applied in integrated circuits and new energy fields, with technological breakthroughs enabling these components to achieve domestic substitution.

Guoci Materials

Guoci Materials focuses on six major business sectors including electronic materials, catalytic materials, biomedical materials, new energy materials, and precision ceramics, with products covering electronic information, new energy vehicles, and semiconductors. Its electronic ceramic materials are applied in semiconductor packaging, circuit substrates, and other key areas, while catalytic materials are used in industrial catalytic reactions, and biomedical materials involve precision manufacturing of medical devices.

To be continued

Disclaimer: The materials are sourced from official media and online news materials. If there are any errors, please refer to the latest information. This article is only a compilation of public data and sharing of industrial logic, and does not constitute any investment advice, guidance, or commitment. Please read with caution.

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