Expansion is imminent! The global chip shortage will continue, and the EPC construction model of the semiconductor plant will become the mainstream

Recently, Taiwan, China has become the core focus of tension between China and the United States, and Taiwan, China supplies 63% of the world's chips, so the chip supply crisis may intensify and deepen; at the same time, according to CNBC information in the United States, analysts from IDC (International Data Corporation) The global chip shortage is not over yet, and the slowdown in manufacturing will severely exacerbate the shortage, it said.

The global chip shortage will continue, and consumers will have to pay for it, an analyst from the International Data Corporation said.

Sasirin Pamai | Istock | Getty Images

Previously, the geopolitical situation in Russia and Ukraine continued to put pressure on the key nodes of the semiconductor industry chain, and the supply of chips would not increase significantly and rapidly, because a large number of semiconductor materials, special gases, etc. are an essential part of chip manufacturing, regardless of equipment composition or Consumables in the process are indispensable.

According to Vinay Gupta, an analyst at IDC Asia-Pacific Research Center, Russia and Ukraine both occupy important links and shares in the global semiconductor industry, and they are both important suppliers of krypton and one of the necessary special gases for chip manufacturing.

01 The current situation of the semiconductor material industry when "domestic substitution is at the right time"

Semiconductor materials, including special gases, are the cornerstone of the important support and development of the industry, and the long-term supply pattern is basically monopolized by Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea. China is the largest semiconductor market and an important participant in the industrial chain.

▲Semiconductor materials run through the entire manufacturing process

On the one hand, the United States continues to increase its restrictions and the "stuck neck" is becoming more and more severe; on the other hand, the competition pattern of international giants makes it difficult to seize the share of semiconductor materials. Although the semiconductor and integrated circuit industries in mainland China are not what they used to be, material companies still need to form Breaking through the layers from point to point, Xiaobian explores the real driving force behind the impressive achievements in materials and chip manufacturing through the observation and description of the industry.

SEMI statistics show that the global semiconductor material market will reach US$64.3 billion in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 16%; China's semiconductor industry started late, and local semiconductor material manufacturers have a global market share of only 13%. According to SIA data, the global semiconductor market will increase by 26% year-on-year in 2021, reaching a record high of US$555.9 billion; from a regional perspective, China is still the largest semiconductor market, with sales of US$192.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 27.1%, accounting for 34.6% of the global market %, ranking first for many consecutive years.

In addition, benefiting from the boom in downstream demand such as automotive electronics, cloud computing, 5G, and IoT, as well as the support of national policies, my country's local semiconductor material manufacturers have entered a stage of rapid development, and have cultivated a number of key local semiconductor material suppliers in various segments. business, including the first echelon of Shanghai Silicon Industry, Shanghai Xinsheng, Youyan New Materials, Jianghua Micro and other enterprises, and have continued research on wafer foundry companies, such as SMIC, Hua Hong and Hefei Jinghe Integration. and interact.

The editor noticed that semiconductor material suppliers can stand out in the competition of many enterprises under the first-mover advantage of international giant technology and market monopoly, not only relying on policy support, the company's own research and development technology and production strength, but also inseparable from the factory production line For infrastructure construction, through research and industry interviews, we found that CLP II, which has a multi-point layout in the field of semiconductor EPC engineering general contracting, production line construction and factory engineering, is actively deploying the full life cycle construction of China's semiconductor material plants.

02 Engineering "heroes behind the scenes" in the semiconductor and integrated circuit materials industry

Semiconductor materials are widely used in wafer manufacturing and packaging, covering wafers (silicon wafers), masks (photomasks), photoresists and auxiliary materials, chemical reagents, electronic gases, targets, CMP materials, packaging substrates and Lead frames, etc.; silicon wafers are the largest category in the field of semiconductor materials, with a market share of 32.9%, followed by gas, accounting for about 14.1%, and photomasks, accounting for 12.6%.

Among many semiconductor materials, silicon wafer and photomask are two very important and special materials. Silicon wafer is the basic material for making semiconductors. By means of this method, integrated circuits and various semiconductor devices can be made, and the photomask (or mask, corresponding to Mask in English) is the key supporting material of the lithography machine and one of the bottlenecks limiting the minimum line width.

▲Photolithography process

Regarding the domestic industrialization and engineering requirements of the above two materials, Lu Jing, a design expert in the electronics industry of CLP No. 2, said, "The cost of semiconductor materials is relatively low, but it has a great impact on yield. At present, silicon wafers and photomasks International manufacturers of templates have taken the lead, but domestic semiconductor material manufacturers still have room for struggle and opportunities to break the game. While making technological breakthroughs, industrialization-related factory affairs and production line construction cannot be ignored. To some extent, even the decision The key to success or failure of a semiconductor material factory. The engineering construction of the semiconductor material industry has extremely high requirements in terms of plant and production line design, construction speed, and construction quality, which promotes the continuous upgrading of the engineering service industry, and the general engineering contracting (EPC) is also the final model of industrialization. "

It is understood that in the process of industrialization of domestic semiconductor materials in recent years, especially in the semiconductor silicon wafer and photomask industry, there are a number of EPC general contracting projects that continue to break through the ceiling of the engineering industry. The industrialization projects of Yi Siwei, Zhejiang Jinruihong, Zhejiang Zhongjing and other companies, among the photomask manufacturers, there are industrialization projects of Shanghai Chuanxin Semiconductor Mask, Guangzhou Photomask and other companies.

"The general engineering contracting (EPC) model used in the industrialization of semiconductor materials can effectively improve labor productivity, reduce waste of raw materials and energy from design, procurement, construction and other links, reduce construction costs, and achieve economies of scale. Based on core advantages and With the continuous expansion of capability boundaries, CLP II has served more than 6,000+ projects, and the top 10 domestic semiconductor companies account for 90% of the service. It has innovated and proposed the L-EPC (Lean EPC Construction) model in the industry, and advocates the integration of marketing and implementation. , the integration of design and construction, and the integration of civil engineering and mechatronics, this model has also been recognized by many semiconductor owners." Lu Jing, a design expert from CLP No. 2, introduced.

Part of the performance of CLP II in the semiconductor material plant

03 The future of domestic semiconductor material engineering EPC general contracting

With the continuous evolution of integrated circuit process technology, capacity expansion tends to be globalized, and higher technical and efficiency requirements are put forward for the production of semiconductor materials and lithography masks. Therefore, it has the ability to build smart factories and coordinate system operations. The engineering EPC enterprises will be more competitive.

During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, semiconductor engineering EPC enterprises will adhere to the new development pattern of domestic and international dual-cycle, face the competition of Europe, America, Japan and South Korea and actively respond to the macro political and economic form, take the domestic market as the main body, and fully serve the coordinated development of the country and region Strategy, strengthen the precise connection between regional marketing and local development, and make the domestic market bigger, stronger and better in serving regional economic and social development.