Chinese semiconductor thread II
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New Thermal Management Breakthrough: GaN-on-Sapphire Substrate Thinned to 50μm
Chinese semiconductor firm Ziener Tech has successfully thinned its 8-inch GaN-on-sapphire substrates from the conventional 200μm down to 50μm, with a 30μm version already in technical development.
Thinning the substrate shortens the heat dissipation path, directly addressing sapphire's historically low thermal conductivity. Measured results show:
Thinning the substrate shortens the heat dissipation path, directly addressing sapphire's historically low thermal conductivity. Measured results show:
- 200μm: 1.6°C/W (comparable to GaN-on-Si)
- 100μm: 1.1°C/W
- 50μm: 0.8°C/W (~50% lower than GaN-on-Silicon)
In high-power totem-pole PFC board testing, the 50μm substrate reduced case temperatures by 13.6°C (at 90V) and 14.5°C (at 264V) compared to 100μm devices, consistently outperforming silicon-based GaN across multiple voltage and load conditions.
This breakthrough overcomes a major thermal bottleneck, enabling higher power density, efficiency, and reliability. Given sapphire's inherent strengths in insulation, lattice matching, and medium/high-voltage breakdown performance, improved thermal management is expected to accelerate its adoption in compact, high-power applications (e.g., EVs, data centers, industrial power supplies) as the market demands next-generation thermal solutions.
US exports controls has China's semi industry collapsing upwards.
With a total investment of 1 billion yuan, Baoli New Materials' ultra-high purity alloy parts project for semiconductor equipment has been signed and settled in Jiangyin.
On April 25, Baoli New Materials signed an agreement to establish a project to produce 100,000 ultra-high purity alloy parts for semiconductor equipment annually in Xiakewan Science City (Qingyang Town), Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province.
According to reports, Baoli New Materials' project to produce 100,000 ultra-high purity alloy parts for semiconductor equipment annually represents a total investment of 1 billion yuan . It includes the construction of 60,000 square meters of new high-standard factory buildings and a research and development center, as well as the purchase of new equipment such as vacuum electron beam furnaces, vacuum induction furnaces, and CNC machining centers. This will create a comprehensive, integrated production base for ultra-high purity alloy parts for semiconductor equipment, covering the entire process from smelting to forging, cold forming, and precision machining. Once fully operational, the project is expected to generate annual revenue exceeding 2 billion yuan and contribute over 50 million yuan in taxes.
Jiangsu Baoli New Materials Co., Ltd. is a technology-based enterprise specializing in the research and development of high-performance alloy materials and components. Its products are widely used in high-end equipment manufacturing fields such as semiconductors and aerospace. The company's independently developed ultra-high purity alloy materials possess excellent properties such as ultra-high purity, low precipitation, low outgassing, and corrosion resistance, and have been certified by leading domestic semiconductor equipment manufacturers such as Naura Technology Group, AMEC, Topway Technology, and Sinyuan Microelectronics . This newly invested project for ultra-high purity alloy components for semiconductor equipment will leverage this core technology to effectively fill the gap in the domestic high-end semiconductor equipment supply chain.
Another 8-inch MPCVD diamond production line has been put into operation.
On April 23, Qiansheng Superhard Materials Co., Ltd. announced in Dongguan that its independently developed MPCVD (microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition) 8-inch diamond production line has officially started full production and simultaneously completed strategic signings with two companies in the industry chain .
The newly commissioned 8-inch diamond production line, based on Qiansheng's self-developed microwave power equipment of over 10 kilowatts, can achieve stable mass production of large-size, high-purity single-crystal diamonds. In terms of key process indicators, the team has continuously optimized the process, increasing the crystal growth rate from 0.5 μm/h in the early stages to 7 μm/h–15 μm/h, significantly improving production efficiency while ensuring material quality.
In terms of material properties, the prepared single-crystal diamond approaches the level of natural diamond in key indicators such as thermal conductivity, electrical properties, and wear resistance, and can be applied to scenarios such as high-power semiconductor heat dissipation and laser windows. With the continuous growth in demand for thermal management and extreme performance materials from high-computing chips and high-power devices, related products have a clear application space.
In addition to putting its production lines into operation, Qiansheng has also partnered with integrated circuit companies and supply chain enterprises to collaborate on diamond materials, semiconductor devices, and supply chain coordination, promoting synergistic development from the materials end to the application end. This type of cooperation helps to streamline the application path of diamond materials in the semiconductor field and accelerate the industrialization process.
From a technological standpoint, Qiansheng has been developing MPCVD crystal growth technology since 2019. Its core team comprises professionals with experience in microwave plasma system development and has completed multiple generations of equipment upgrades. Building upon this foundation, the company has gradually constructed a comprehensive technology system covering equipment, processes, and materials, providing support for the successful deployment of its 8-inch production line.
Overall, the commissioning of the 8-inch MPCVD diamond production line not only demonstrates the company's technological progress in the preparation of large-size single-crystal diamonds, but also reflects the trend of China's high-end diamond materials sector moving towards large-scale and industrialization. With the release of demand from downstream semiconductor, advanced optics, and extreme environment applications, there is still room for further expansion in related technologies and supply chain collaboration.
Looks like the UltraPmax is going to be used in the metal interconnects and back side processes, the tool looks like to be unique among China deposition tools.
ACM Research (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. announced the successful assembly, debugging, and delivery of its first self-developed plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) silicon carbonitride (SiCN) equipment. The equipment is designed for 300mm wafers and targets high-end integrated circuits at 55nm nodes and below, specifically for back-end metal interconnect processes. It serves as core equipment for advanced logic chips and advanced packaging.
ACM Research (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. announced the successful assembly, debugging, and delivery of its first self-developed plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) silicon carbonitride (SiCN) equipment. The equipment is designed for 300mm wafers and targets high-end integrated circuits at 55nm nodes and below, specifically for back-end metal interconnect processes. It serves as core equipment for advanced logic chips and advanced packaging.
- Technical Specifications:
- Features four wafer loading ports and three independent process chambers for high throughput and stability.
- Maximum process temperature: 400°C.
- Utilizes proprietary cavity design, gas distribution, and chuck structures to ensure excellent film uniformity, low stress, and low particle counts.
The PECVD NDC (SiCN) technology creates thin films that suppress copper oxidation and diffusion, acting as a barrier and etching stop layer. This ensures chip stability and supports high-density device architectures in advanced packaging.
Technical indicators are comparable to mainstream international products. The equipment has passed verification at Shengmei Shanghai’s Lingang Laboratory and is currently undergoing final client verification.
Technical indicators are comparable to mainstream international products. The equipment has passed verification at Shengmei Shanghai’s Lingang Laboratory and is currently undergoing final client verification.
48 institutes have achieved major breakthroughs in key technologies for large-size diamond core equipment.
Recently, the 48th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (Hunan) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "the Company") has made a major breakthrough in the key technology field of ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor equipment, and successfully developed the first prototype of high-power diamond MPCVD.
Diamond's thermal conductivity is more than five times that of copper, making it a core material for overcoming heat dissipation bottlenecks in critical components such as lasers, microwave chips, AI computing chips, and high-power power electronic modules. Currently, the growth of large-size diamonds generally faces common industry challenges such as low efficiency, high stress, and poor uniformity.
Leveraging the advantages of the National Third Generation Semiconductor Technology Innovation Center (Hunan), the company has fully utilized its technological system and industrial resources to focus on key technologies and rapidly achieve breakthroughs in areas such as large-area, highly uniform plasma field construction, high-power, highly stable microwave transmission and coupling, and large-size diamond wafer growth and stress control. It has independently developed a high-power diamond MPCVD equipment prototype, which has now entered the user application verification stage.
Going forward, the company will continue to deepen the collaborative development model of "equipment-materials-devices-applications", accelerate the iteration and industrialization of core equipment technologies for diamond semiconductors, and lay a solid equipment foundation for the future diamond semiconductor industry in my country.
Optimization and stabilization of a compact laser-plasma EUV source based on pulsed Xe/He double-stream gas jets.
r-plasma extreme ultraviolet (EUV) source based on Xe/He double-stream gas jets irradiated by a 700-mJ Nd:YAG laser. The source was characterized using a flat-field spectrometer, an absolutely calibrated EUV energy meter, and a pinhole camera imaging system. A Maximum single-pulse EUV intensity of 2.36 mJ was achieved at 13.5 nm (2% bandwidth, 2 sr), corresponding to a conversion efficiency of 0.34%. Meanwhile, the plasma size was reduced to a length of 560 m and a diameter of 160 m when observed at a 90 angle relative to the laser. An intensity stability of 0.52% (1 , 100-pulse window) was achieved over 3000 pulses when stabilizing the back pressure of the Xe gas with a pressure controller. This EUV source is applicable to various EUV metrology applications.