Photoresist is currently widely used in the processing and production of fine graphic circuits in the optoelectronic information industry. The cost of the photolithography process accounts for about 35% of the entire chip manufacturing process, and the time consumption accounts for 40% to 60% of the entire chip process. It is the core process in semiconductor manufacturing. Photoresist materials account for about 4% of the total cost of chip manufacturing materials and are the core materials for semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing.
The growth rate of China’s photoresist market is higher than the international level. According to data from the Prospective Industry Research Institute, my country’s local supply of photoresist in 2019 was about 7 billion yuan, and the compound growth rate since 2010 has reached 11%, which is much higher than the global growth rate. However, the local supply accounts for only about 10% of the global share, and the domestic substitution has been achieved mainly for low-end PCB photoresists. The self-sufficiency rate of photoresists in the LCD and semiconductor fields is extremely low.
Photoresist is a graphic transfer medium that uses different solubility after light reaction to transfer the mask pattern to the substrate. It is mainly composed of photosensitive agent (photoinitiator), polymerizer (photosensitive resin), solvent and additive.
The raw materials of photoresist are mainly resin, solvent and other additives. Among them, solvent accounts for the largest proportion, generally more than 80%. Although other additives account for less than 5% of the mass, they are key materials that determine the unique properties of photoresist, including photosensitizers, surfactants and other materials. In the photolithography process, photoresist is evenly coated on different substrates such as silicon wafers, glass and metal. After exposure, development and etching, the pattern on the mask is transferred to the film to form a geometric pattern that completely corresponds to the mask.
Photoresist can be divided into three categories according to its downstream application fields: semiconductor photoresist, panel photoresist and PCB photoresist.
Semiconductor photoresist
At present, KrF/ArF is still the mainstream processing material. With the development of integrated circuits, photolithography technology has gone through the development from G-line (436nm) lithography, H-line (405nm) lithography, I-line (365nm) lithography, to deep ultraviolet DUV lithography (KrF248nm and ArF193nm), 193nm immersion plus multiple imaging technology (32nm-7nm), and then to extreme ultraviolet (EUV, <13.5nm) lithography, and even non-optical lithography (electron beam exposure, ion beam exposure), and various types of photoresists with corresponding wavelengths as photosensitive wavelengths have also been applied.
The photoresist market has a high degree of industry concentration. Japanese companies have an absolute advantage in the field of semiconductor photoresists. The main semiconductor photoresist manufacturers include Tokyo Ohka, JSR, Sumitomo Chemical, Shin-Etsu Chemical in Japan; Dongjin Semiconductor in South Korea; and DowDuPont in the United States, among which Japanese companies occupy about 70% of the market share. In terms of products, Tokyo Ohka leads in the fields of g-line/i-line and Krf photoresists, with market shares of 27.5% and 32.7% respectively. JSR has the highest market share in the field of Arf photoresist, at 25.6%.
According to Fuji Economic forecasts, the global ArF and KrF glue production capacity is expected to reach 1,870 and 3,650 tons in 2023, with a market size of nearly 4.9 billion and 2.8 billion yuan. The gross profit margin of the Japanese photoresist leaders JSR and TOK, including photoresist, is about 40%, of which the cost of photoresist raw materials accounts for about 90%.
Domestic semiconductor photoresist manufacturers include Shanghai Xinyang, Nanjing Optoelectronics, Jingrui Co., Ltd., Beijing Kehua, and Hengkun Co., Ltd. At present, only Beijing Kehua and Jingrui Co., Ltd. have the ability to mass-produce KrF photoresist, and Beijing Kehua’s products have been supplied to SMIC. The 19,000 tons/year ArF (dry process) photoresist project under construction in Shanghai Xinyang is expected to reach full production in 2022.
Panel photoresist
Photoresist is a key material for LCD panel manufacturing. According to different users, it can be divided into RGB glue, BM glue, OC glue, PS glue, TFT glue, etc.
Panel photoresists mainly include four categories: TFT wiring photoresists, LCD/TP spacer photoresists, color photoresists and black photoresists. Among them, TFT wiring photoresists are used for ITO wiring, and LCD/TP precipitation photoresists are used to keep the thickness of the liquid crystal material between the two glass substrates of the LCD constant. Color photoresists and black photoresists can give color filters color rendering functions.
The panel photoresist market needs to be stable, and the demand for color photoresists is leading. It is expected that global sales will reach 22,900 tons and sales will reach US$877 million in 2022.
The sales of TFT panel photoresists, LCD/TP spacer photoresists, and black photoresists are expected to reach US$321 million, US$251 million, and US$199 million respectively in 2022. According to Zhiyan Consulting’s estimates, the global panel photoresist market size will reach RMB 16.7 billion in 2020, with a growth rate of about 4%. According to our estimates, the photoresist market will reach RMB 20.3 billion by 2025. Among them, with the transfer of the LCD industry center, the market size and localization rate of LCD photoresist in my country are expected to gradually increase.
PCB photoresist
PCB photoresist can be divided into UV curing ink and UV spray ink according to the coating method. At present, domestic PCB ink suppliers have gradually achieved domestic substitution, and companies such as Rongda Photosensitive and Guangxin Materials have mastered the key technologies of PCB ink.
Domestic TFT photoresist and semiconductor photoresist are still in the initial exploration stage. Jingrui Co., Ltd., Yak Technology, Yongtai Technology, Rongda Photosensitive, Xinyihua, China Electronics Rainbow, and Feikai Materials all have layouts in the field of TFT photoresist. Among them, Feikai Materials and Beixu Electronics have planned production capacity of up to 5,000 tons/year. Yak Technology has entered this market by acquiring the color photoresist division of LG Chem, and has advantages in channels and technology.
For industries with extremely high technical barriers such as photoresist, achieving breakthroughs at the technical level is the foundation, and secondly, continuous improvement of processes is required to meet the needs of the rapid development of the semiconductor industry.
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Post time: Nov-27-2024