On the evening of August 28, China's leading semiconductor equipment manufacturer, AMEC (688012), released its 2025 semi-annual report.
The financial report shows that in the first half of the year, China Micro Corporation achieved operating income of approximately 4.961 billion yuan, an increase of approximately 43.88% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent was 706 million yuan, an increase of 36.62% year-on-year; and net profit excluding non-recurring items was 539 million yuan, an increase of 11.49% year-on-year.
R&D investment in the first half of the year was 1.492 billion yuan
In terms of R&D investment, the announcement showed that in the first half of this year, China Micro Corporation's R&D investment totaled 1.492 billion yuan, an increase of 53.70% over the same period last year. The total R&D investment accounted for 30.07% of operating income, an increase of 1.92 percentage points over the same period last year.
Market performance and shipment volume of various equipment
AMEC is primarily engaged in the research, development, production, and sales of high-end semiconductor and pan-semiconductor equipment. Its plasma etching equipment is already used in 65- to 5-nanometer (nm) and other advanced integrated circuit manufacturing and packaging lines for international first-tier clients.
To meet the more stringent process requirements of 5nm and below, the company is actively developing next-generation models to achieve higher etch selectivity and uniformity control, as well as more stable mass production performance. In memory chip manufacturing, AMEC's plasma etching equipment is already widely used in the mass production of advanced 3D flash memory and dynamic random access memory devices.
1. CCP etching equipment
The company's CCP etching equipment, including dual-reactor models Primo D-RIE, Primo AD-RIE, Primo AD-RIE-e and single-reactor model Primo HD-RIE, has been widely used in the production lines of domestic and foreign first-line customers. The single-reactor product Primo HD-RIE-e for high-precision and high-selectivity etching processes and Primo UD-RIE for ultra-high aspect ratio etching processes continue to receive customer orders. Among them,
Primo HD-RIE-e has been installed in more than 120 reaction tables in the first half of 2025, and Primo UD-RIE has been installed in nearly 200 reaction tables.
As of the first half of 2025, the cumulative installed base of CCP etching equipment exceeded 4,500 reactors, an increase of over 900 reactors compared to the same period in 2024. Dual-reactor etching products, with their unique design, provide balanced solutions for customers at both mature and advanced technology nodes, consistently securing volume orders. A
s of the first half of 2025, the cumulative installed base exceeded 3,300 reactors. Single-reactor products have achieved continuous breakthroughs in key processes in recent years, reaching a cumulative installed base of nearly 1,200 reactors as of the first half of 2025.
2. ICP etching equipment
During the reporting period, the company's ICP etching equipment entered mass production on the production lines of more than 50 customers, covering chips and devices such as logic, DRAM, 3D NAND, power and power management, and micro-electromechanical systems. The company also continued to validate additional ICP etching processes. A
s of the first half of 2025, the cumulative installed base of ICP etching equipment exceeded 1,200 reactors.
3. MOCVD equipment
During the reporting period, the company's products, such as PRISMO A7 for blue light lighting, PRISMO HiT3 for deep ultraviolet LEDs, and PRISMO UniMax for Mini-LED displays, continued to serve customers, and the company continued to maintain its leading position in the international GaN-based MOCVD equipment market.
Production capacity continues to expand
The company's approximately 140,000 square meter production and R&D base in Nanchang and approximately 180,000 square meter production and R&D base in Shanghai Lingang have been put into use, significantly increasing production capacity; the approximately 100,000 square meter headquarters building and R&D center on the shores of Dishui Lake in Shanghai Lingang is also under smooth construction; to ensure sufficient factory space in the next ten years and to meet the needs of numerous new product developments and rapid production capacity growth, the company plans to build new production and R&D bases in Zengcheng District, Guangzhou and Chengdu Hi-tech Zone.
More than 20 new equipment are under development to build a platform-based group company
In terms of new product research and development, AMEC’s current projects cover six types of equipment and involve the development of over 20 new devices.
AMEC aligns closely with market trends and is expanding the application scope of its MOCVD equipment. Development of MOCVD systems for red and yellow LEDs is progressing smoothly, with laboratory tests showing excellent wavelength uniformity. During the reporting period, AMEC shipped its first such system to a leading domestic customer for production validation.
The next-generation MOCVD equipment for GaN-on-silicon power devices is on track. Compatible with both 6-inch and 8-inch processes, it offers improved thickness and composition uniformity, superior epitaxial wafer surface particle control, and automated handling. Equipment for SiC power device epitaxy is also in development.
AMEC has commercialized six thin-film deposition products. Its tungsten tool suite—
comprising CVD, HAR, and ALD tungsten tools—covers all tungsten applications in memory devices. These systems have passed field verification at key memory clients, meeting performance needs for advanced metal interconnects (including high aspect ratio) and wordlines in 3D memory, securing repeat orders. The products also meet requirements for tungsten contact applications in advanced logic devices, with shipments to multiple logic customers and ongoing successful verification.
A series of metal gate solutions—ALD titanium nitride, ALD titanium aluminum, and ALD tantalum nitride—are now available for advanced logic devices. These have completed device validation across multiple advanced logic customers, achieving world-leading film uniformity, contamination control, and production efficiency. Equipment has been shipped to customers and is progressing smoothly toward approvals.
Building on existing R&D in metal CVD and ALD equipment, AMEC is advancing multiple new CVD and ALD systems to broaden thin-film equipment coverage and market share.
Through fundamental research and customer-driven technical feedback, AMEC’s EPI R&D team has developed a proprietary platform featuring innovative pretreatment and epitaxial reaction chambers. Low-pressure EPI equipment has been shipped to mature process customers for mass production verification and is now entering advanced process validation. The new high-selectivity pre-cleaning chamber meets advanced process demands and has been delivered to advanced process customers, progressing through customer verification. Atmospheric pressure EPI equipment has completed development and entered process debugging; atmospheric pressure EPI systems have completed development and entered process verification.
Yin Zhiyao, Chairman of AMEC, said: "Our new equipment development speed has significantly accelerated—what once took three to five years now takes two years or less, enabling rapid market entry and mass production. Currently, over 30 types of equipment cover 25% to 30% of high-end semiconductor equipment. Over the next five to ten years, through organic growth and external expansion, we aim to capture 50% to 60% of the high-end semiconductor equipment market, becoming a platform-based group company."
