The introduction of domestic etching equipment has been accelerated, and the etching equipment of North Huachuang (Naura) and China Micro (AMEC) has entered the mainstream project production line
In recent years, the value of relatively mature domestic equipment in the local wafer production line has increased. At present, in the semiconductor industry in mainland China, etching equipment has entered a mature stage, and the market space is constantly expanding. Domestic etching equipment has made continuous breakthroughs in technology. The leaders of etching equipment, North Huachuang and Zhongwei, have made breakthroughs in their respective subdivisions and entered more production lines.
Jiwei.com compiled statistics based on the bidding platform data. In April 2022, the number of etching equipment in mainland China was 36, and the number of domestic equipment manufacturers was 26, including 14 from North Huachuang and 12 from China Micro.
The advantages of NAURA are in the fields of silicon etching and metal etching, while China Micro is stronger in dielectric etching. It is not difficult to see from the above-mentioned data of winning bids in April.
It is understood that NAURA’s 12-inch ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) etching machine is also playing an important role in 14/7nm SADP/SAQP, advanced memory, 3DTSV and other process applications while realizing the localized replacement of 28nm for clients. important role. On November 21, 2019, NAURA's ICP etching equipment helped Shanghai ICRD achieve a major breakthrough in the research and development of its own 14-nanometer SADP process.
With its obvious advantages in the field of ICP etching, the 14nm plasma silicon etching machine independently developed by NAURA has successfully entered the production line of mainstream projects. According to the incomplete statistics of Jiwei.com, in April, North Huachuang metal plasma etching machine, polysilicon etching machine and other equipment have entered the construction project of Shanghai Jita characteristic process production line. According to public information, the total investment of Jita Semiconductor's special process production line project is 35.9 billion yuan. The goal is to build an 8-inch production line with a monthly production capacity of 60,000 pieces and a 50,000-piece 12-inch special process production line. In addition, Zhuzhou CRRC Times Semiconductor Co., Ltd. purchased a metal etching machine; the high-density metal etching machine was purchased by Peking University.
Another domestic semiconductor equipment leader, China Micro Corporation, has obvious advantages in CCP (capacitively coupled plasma) etching technology, and multiple CCP etching equipment has entered Hua Hong Wuxi's 12-inch process production line. According to public information, the Hua Hong Wuxi project has a total investment of over US$10 billion. The first phase of the project plans to invest about 2.5 billion US dollars to build a 12-inch (300mm) characteristic integrated circuit production line with a monthly production capacity of 40,000 pieces, covering 90~65/55 nanometer process nodes.
According to China Micro's 2021 annual report, the company's CCP etching equipment products maintain a competitive advantage. In 2021, a total of 298 chambers of CCP etching equipment will be produced and shipped, and the output will increase by 40% year-on-year. Primo AD-RIE, Primo SSC ADRIE, Primo HD-RIE and other products are applied in batches to the integrated circuit processing and manufacturing production lines of first-line customers at home and abroad, and continue to increase market share.
The CCP etching equipment such as Primo AD-RIE, which is independently developed by Zhongwei for 12-inch wafer processing, has been introduced into its advanced chip production lines from 65nm to 5nm by internationally renowned customers; Primo AD-RIE200 is in technological innovation and production. Efficiency has been further improved to meet the processing needs of different customers for 8-inch wafers; Primo HD-RIE excels in high aspect ratio trench and deep hole etching in 3D-NAND and DRAM, and in some key processes Mass production has been achieved.
In terms of ICP etching technology, Zhongwei has gradually matured. In 2021, a total of 134 ICP etching equipment will be produced and shipped, and the output will increase by 235% year-on-year. Primo nanova ICP etching products have been verified by more than 100 ICP etching processes on the production lines of more than 15 customers. The etching performance and mass production indicators of some processes have met the requirements of customers and have been put into mass production.
Deep silicon etching equipment Primo TSV200E and Primo TSV300E using ICP technology continue to receive repeated orders in mature etching markets such as advanced system packaging, 2.5-dimensional packaging and MEMS chip production lines, and also in the etching process in emerging markets such as 3D chips. Start getting verified.