Electronics

Today, the editor has learned from multiple sources that when the global foundry is fully loaded, not only the upstream demand for raw material silicon wafers is strong, but the supply of recycled wafers is also in short supply.

"Recycled wafers" may not be familiar to some people, but it is also a very important part of the foundry industry. As the name suggests, recycled wafers are recycled wafers. However, this kind of wafer is not a wafer that has been normally taped out in our daily cognition, but refers to a test wafer in the chip manufacturing process.

Downstream fab demand stimulates, Taiwanese fabs and Japanese fabs increase production

Therefore, recycled wafers are important materials for fabs before they enter mass production. They can be used to monitor process parameters and production environments, and are also key elements to improve yield and reduce costs. With the continuous release of new production capacity in downstream processes, the demand for recycled wafers has also risen.

Today, judging from the latest situation of Taiwan's three major remanufactured wafer manufacturers, Shengyangban, Xinyun, and Zhongshang, this year's new production capacity has been fully loaded, and there seems to be a strong need for further expansion next year.

It is not difficult to find that Shengyang has a full half-full line, of which the 12-inch expansion was completed by 70,000 pieces at the end of last year, and the monthly production capacity is as high as 300,000 pieces. It is firmly seated in the world's second throne. After a new round of production capacity is opened next year, it is expected to become the global leader in recycled wafers.

Xin Yun is also drawing up a plan to expand the production of recycled wafers. This year's monthly production capacity has increased from 120,000 to 140,000. It is expected that another 20,000 pieces will be expanded next year to reach 160,000 pieces. The pace of its expansion in the past two years has been relatively fast, with a rate of over 30%.

In other words, the above two manufacturers have planned to expand production again next year. Although the latest monthly production capacity of Zhongsha this year has reached the level of 300,000 pieces, its production capacity is still tight and has tried to increase prices.

The key point is that for the current global leader in regenerated wafers, RS Technologies, it also announced as early as last month that it would increase capital expenditures in China, Taiwan and Japan in the next two years to expand its production capacity.

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In general, the editor also believes that from the historical data, the demand growth rate of the upstream and downstream related industrial chains of the foundry often maintains a high consistency. As the semiconductor industry continues to advance toward advanced manufacturing processes, the demand for testing continues to increase, which will stimulate the consumption of recycled wafers to greatly increase, and the unit price of sales will exceed the previous mature manufacturing processes. This will naturally become the main driving force for the growth of related suppliers.

From scratch, domestic replacement of wafer recycling ushered in speed

It is not difficult to understand that Taiwan and other places on the other side have developed foundry industries and naturally cultivated a strong upstream supply chain. The main suppliers of recycled wafers are almost among the best in the world. On the other hand, in the mainland, before 2020, the field of wafer recycling is almost blank.

The editor understands that before most mainland fabs sent test wafers to Taiwan or Japan for recycling processing, and a small number of companies, such as SMIC, will regenerate some of their wafers.

In general, mainland China's previous independent wafer regeneration has not yet entered the mass production stage, and the market is quite broad. Especially for 12-inch recycled wafers.

After all, with the continuous improvement of mainland wafer production capacity, the wafer recycling market has also been boosted, and some domestic companies have begun to notice opportunities for domestic substitution. For example, several major manufacturers such as Zhichun Technology, Jingxin, and GCL Integration have begun to deploy wafer recycling related businesses.

In fact, the nation's first 12-inch wafer re-production line built by Zhichun Technology in Hefei was officially mass-produced two months ago. However, the production capacity still needs some time to climb. This year only hopes to contribute 2 months of output value, and the profitability of the project requires a certain amount of excessive time, and we need to wait patiently.

Fortunately, after this wafer regeneration related project is fully put into production, it can form an annual capacity of 1.68 million wafers regeneration and 1.2 million parts cleaning. After full production, the annual output value can exceed 600 million yuan at least.

And Jingxin Semiconductor is the first wafer recycling plant in Hubei. The first phase of the project has been put into full production in June this year, and is currently continuing to increase its production capacity. It is expected to reach a scale of 100,000 wafers per month in the first half of next year. Jingxin will be constructed in four phases. After the project is fully completed, there will be four 12-inch wafer regeneration production lines with a monthly production capacity of 400,000 wafers.

For the GCL-integrated recycled wafer project, it is also actively building a talent team. The project is progressing steadily, and it is believed that there will be the latest progress soon.

Coincidentally, a few days ago, this platform also reported the mass production ceremony of Anhui Fullerde Yangtze Semiconductor's 12-inch recycled wafer project.

This marks the formal mass production of its 12-inch recycled wafer project production base. As a key project in Anhui Province, Fullerton Yangtze River Semiconductor has become the first batch of specialized factories in China to enter mass production of 12-inch wafer regenerative manufacturing.

All in all, the times have created heroes. As the pioneers in the large-scale mass production of recycled wafers in mainland China, the above-mentioned manufacturers will increase their self-sufficiency rate of recycled wafers in China and meet the needs of the semiconductor wafer recycling market at home and abroad. There are gains in the broad market.

The key point is that this can help domestic fabs get rid of the dilemma of long-term dependence on imports, allowing them to achieve high-level large-size wafer regeneration in China, which is a major breakthrough in achieving another area of independent controllability in China’s semiconductor supply chain. , Has a long-term positive significance for the development of the domestic semiconductor industry.