Introduction: The equipment industry will be an important link for China's semiconductor industry to achieve a leap from tracking to leading. Ji Ankuan, vice president of Northern Microelectronics, a domestic semiconductor equipment leader, believes that the development of domestic semiconductor equipment is of great strategic significance. The localization of semiconductor equipment will greatly reduce the investment cost of Chinese chip manufacturers and increase the competitiveness of Chinese chip manufacturing.

OFweek Electronic Engineering Network News As the first ten-year action plan for China to implement the strategy of manufacturing a strong country, "Made in China 2025" sets clear requirements for the localization of semiconductor equipment: by 2020, the localization rate of 90-32 nanometer process equipment will reach 50%, localization of 90nm lithography machine, and localization rate of key equipment for packaging and testing reached 50%. Before 2025, the localization rate of 20-14 nanometer process equipment will reach 30%, and the localization of immersion lithography machines will be realized. By 2030, localization of 18-inch process equipment, EUV lithography machines, and packaging and testing equipment.

From the perspective of the difficulty of localization in each link of the industrial chain, it is an indisputable fact that equipment> manufacturing> packaging> design. However, recently there has been a blast of wind on the semiconductor wafer manufacturing line across China. Can China's equipment industry seize this rare opportunity to achieve the set goals of "Made in China 2025" in one fell swoop?

Where is the difference between domestic equipment?

The equipment industry will be an important link for China's semiconductor industry to achieve a leap from tracking to leading. Ji Ankuan, vice president of Northern Microelectronics, a domestic semiconductor equipment leader, believes that the development of domestic semiconductor equipment is of great strategic significance. The localization of semiconductor equipment will greatly reduce the investment cost of Chinese chip manufacturers and increase the competitiveness of Chinese chip manufacturing.

However, due to the high barriers to entry for local companies for semiconductor equipment, the localization rate is currently low. "Semiconductor equipment has a long R & D cycle, large investment and high risks, and the more advanced the process equipment, the higher the cost. For example, an ASML lithography motor is 40 million to 50 million US dollars." Successful R & D is also difficult to penetrate into the supply chains of major international manufacturers. "

From the perspective of the industrial chain, let's not talk about the technical difficulty, but the adaptability of each link in China, that is, the design and packaging of equipment and materials. Industry expert Mo Dakang believes that the most difficult reason for the development of the equipment industry is that the amount of use is too small in addition to issues such as capital and personnel.

Da Mokang worked for many years in the world's largest semiconductor equipment company-American Applied Materials. He summarized the difficulty of localization of semiconductor equipment from five aspects:

First, the semiconductor equipment market has become increasingly specialized and global. At present, through the merger and elimination of the global equipment industry, there are only 1 or 2 and up to 3 or 4 companies in each market segment. The competition is fierce. For example, ASML is the largest in the lithography industry and is globally oriented. market. In contrast, domestic enterprises have a weak foundation and few have the ability to cut into overseas markets.

Second is the unique status of semiconductor equipment. Beginning in the late 1980s, semiconductor equipment companies began to integrate process capabilities into equipment, so that users can guarantee the use of equipment and meet process requirements. So there is a generation of devices, a generation of equipment. This is why semiconductor equipment is so expensive, and it is also a great challenge for domestic companies.

Thirty-third is that due to the small number of shipments, equipment companies can hardly afford the cost of the process test line. For this reason, domestic methods can only be used to subsidize downstream manufacturing companies and use the production lines of manufacturing companies to help equipment companies conduct tests, which obviously has more constraints. Starting from research and development and prototype, a device must pass a large number of silicon wafers and other process tests to discover problems and modify them. This process has to be repeated many times and modified many times before the final finalization. And before leaving the factory, we must go through a marathon test to calculate the mean time between failures.

Twenty-fourth, South Korea and China's Taiwan region have also been committed to the localization of equipment, but with little success. At present, the global market is still mainly controlled by American and Japanese companies, which also reflects the difficulty from the side.

Fifth, the equipment industry needs the industrial environment. From the perspective of cost composition, on the surface, China's equipment companies and foreign companies are not much different. For example, key parts and components are all purchased, and personnel and management costs are similar, but in fact, the industrial environment is very different. For example, the western equity incentive system is more flexible, and employees are more motivated; the same is the purchase of parts, because Chinese companies are imported, so they have to bear taxes, and some parts require an export license for ordering; , The purchase price is high; industrial supporting conditions are different, such as the realization of certain designs to verify domestic enterprises to spend higher costs; lack of talent, etc.

"In fact, the design level of domestic equipment is not much different from the international level." Mo Dakang emphasized, "Strictly speaking, the real difference is that domestic semiconductor equipment is still in the prototype stage and given to customers. Downtime, so it is unlikely to be used in mass production as soon as it comes up, otherwise it will affect the production line operation.

The equipment industry will be an important link for China's semiconductor industry to achieve a leap from tracking to leading. Ji Ankuan, vice president of Northern Microelectronics, a domestic semiconductor equipment leader, believes that the development of domestic semiconductor equipment is of great strategic significance. The localization of semiconductor equipment will greatly reduce the investment cost of Chinese chip manufacturers and increase the competitiveness of Chinese chip manufacturing.

What is the difficulty in achieving the goal?

"The goal of" Made in China 2025 "is clear, and it is also very difficult to complete." Said industry analyst Lin Jianhong.

Rhenium equipment is the most expensive part of investing in a fab, and the lithography machine is usually regarded as the biggest capacity bottleneck of the fab, which is the core equipment of the miniature process. Lin Jianhong believes that for new equipment, the barriers to entering the existing market are relatively low, which is why "Made in China 2025" targets 90 ~ 40nm as its primary goal. Of course, in addition to the most basic performance requirements, replacement products need to be 100% replaced with existing products in terms of space appearance and production capacity. If there is any accident, it will cause the entire plant to stop production.

In this way, by replacing the equipment of the old production line, and then entering the new production plant, the opportunity is relatively greater. However, according to Lin Jianhong's analysis, although there are currently more than 10 12-inch factories in China that have been announced to be put into operation and ground breaking, these factories are expected to achieve mass production in 2018. In terms of time, China's independent lithography machine is on schedule It is quite difficult to enter these factories.

There may be new capacity investment in 2020, but because China's wafer manufacturing is still catching up internationally, it is reasonable to say that when expanding production, it will also use the previous equipment (i.e. Production equipment) to ensure that the expansion can be completed in the shortest time, the fewest variables, and the most economical R & D investment.

"In other words, if the lithography machine manufacturer is to have results in 2020, the slowest must be mass production capacity in 2017, and it must have a track record of being used by fabs." Lin Jianhong emphasized.

Specifically, what are the difficulties in achieving the localization goal? Lin Jianhong further analyzed that in order for any equipment manufacturer to enter the field of wafer manufacturing, in addition to patents and human resources, it must face at least three difficulties: verifying the performance of the machine, mass production performance, and client familiarity. The first point can barely be done in the plant of the equipment supplier. The second point is the most difficult part. How can I find the first customer willing to use it without mass production? The third point is actually the cost of using the customer. Assuming that the customer already has 20 ASML equipment, it means that the customer's process engineer is already very familiar with the condition, performance, and usage of the equipment; the equipment engineer knows how to repair and handle simple accidents; the cost of maintaining spare parts is relatively low Low; the experience of equipment manufacturers in various plants can quickly accumulate and become the best support for solving customer problems.

"To put it bluntly, for the issues of mass production performance, ecosystem support and other issues, we cannot achieve breakthroughs through financial subsidies and talent tapping." Lin Jianhong admitted frankly.

How to break through the difficulties?

From the tide of global semiconductor mergers and acquisitions over the past two years, the simplest way to achieve the goal of localization seems to be mergers and acquisitions. "The fastest way is to purchase patents from existing companies in the market to realize technology transfer." Lin Jianhong said, "but the industry needs to take root and cultivate local relevant talents, as well as related materials, control, precision machinery, optical design, etc. Supporting plan. "

Unlike the design, packaging, and manufacturing processes, the domestic semiconductor equipment industry has the weakest foundation. Ji Ankuan believes that, unlike other leaders in other sectors, the semiconductor equipment manufacturing industry's market structure is fragmented, and the mid-to-high-end market is almost completely monopolized by foreign countries, so the integration of the industry is also very difficult.

Since acquisitions are also difficult to achieve, we can only try to close the gap. As mentioned above, the real gap in domestic equipment is inadequate verification on the production line. Lin Jianhong said that new products and equipment need a place where a large number of tests can be performed. Equipment manufacturing knowledge, patents, talents, etc. can be bought, but the productivity of the equipment requires time certification. In particular, the lithography machine is the core competitiveness of wafer manufacturing. Once the wrong equipment is bought, for the wafer manufacturer, it means that the entire plant investment has failed. Not only the high capital cost, but also the important cost of re-purchasing equipment is a 6-9 month time loss. No manufacturer can afford this lost customer and market position.

Taking a step back, even if you buy a suitable company through capital operation, or you have achieved good results in your own research and development, you still need to import equipment for testing by relevant institutions such as research institutes. Although it is of a research nature, it can be manufactured in large quantities. Production, as the first step for related equipment manufacturers to promote equipment. For wafer manufacturers, the state should also cooperate with good incentives. On the one hand, it is necessary to cover the cost of the preliminary research on the introduction of the relevant equipment by the manufacturer, and on the other hand, after the mass production results, the relevant rewards must also be made.

At the same time, it is also necessary to assist the lithography machine manufacturer to verify the mass productivity of the equipment, so that the lithography manufacturer has the data to prove its mass production capacity. It also takes into account the importance of the lithography machine to the wafer manufacturer in production and reduces the risk adopted by the wafer manufacturer. In this way, policies related to the localization of equipment can be promoted more smoothly.

Improving the verification environment for domestic equipment is also repeatedly emphasized by Mo Dakang: "First of all, a process test line must be established, and funds and commitments must be thought of separately. Secondly, the localization of key parts and components must be planned to support and promote mass production. In fact, many key components are not only used in semiconductor equipment, but can also be widely used in other industrial fields. Finally, Chinese semiconductor companies must have the confidence and courage to strive for world-class levels and the determination to enter the global market. "

Facing rare industrial development opportunities, the realization of localization of semiconductor equipment requires the cooperation of various links in the industrial chain and the general environment. According to Ji Ankuan, as a high-end semiconductor equipment and process solution provider, Northern Microelectronics has made certain technological breakthroughs in some areas and achieved high market share, but there is still a gap compared with international manufacturers. Ji Ankuan suggested that, on the one hand, the domestic supply chain of equipment parts and components should be strengthened; on the other hand, the industrial chain needs to cooperate to create a development environment suitable for the survival of latecomers. There must be effective measures to encourage equipment users (including foreign manufacturers in mainland China) to purchase domestic equipment. Only by fundamentally increasing the enthusiasm and determination of equipment users to use domestically produced equipment, can the comprehensive realization of the goal of semiconductor equipment domestication be effectively achieved.