Semiconductor silicon wafer is the most important material for chip manufacturing and the cornerstone of the semiconductor industry. The large silicon wafer usually refers to a 12-inch silicon wafer. Under the influence of Moore's Law, in order to reduce the cost of chips, the larger the silicon wafer, the better, the larger the diameter of the silicon wafer, the more chips can be produced on a single silicon wafer, and the smaller the edge loss is, and the single chip The cost is also lower.

According to 2021 data, in the global silicon wafer market, the six major manufacturers of Japan's Shin-Etsu Chemical, Global Wafer, Germany's Shichuang, Japan's Shenggao, South Korea's SK Siltron, and Soitec have taken about 92% of the world's share.

In contrast, silicon wafer manufacturers in mainland China have a small market share, and mainly focus on silicon wafers of 200mm (8 inches) and below. There are few local manufacturers that can produce 300mm (12 inches) silicon wafers. The main demand for advanced process chips of 7nm and below is 12-inch silicon wafers.

In the international market, 12-inch silicon wafers have already become the mainstream. According to SEMI data, in 2019, the global 300mm silicon wafer shipment area accounted for 67.22%.

Until 2017, Shanghai Xinsheng (now a subsidiary of Shanghai Silicon Industry), founded by Dr. Zhang Rujing, achieved mass production of 12-inch silicon wafers for the first time, breaking the monopoly of international giants on large silicon wafers. Today, Shanghai Silicon Industry said that its 12-inch large silicon wafers can be used for chip manufacturing in the 28nm process.

The data shows that the Shanghai silicon industry will account for only 2.2% of the global share in 2021, while the total share of all domestic manufacturers will not exceed 5%. In addition to the Shanghai silicon industry, other companies such as Super Silicon Semiconductor, Zhongxin Wafer, Yiswei, Leon Micro, and Zhonghuan Co., Ltd. have already achieved mass production of 300mm silicon wafers, while Youyan Silicon is building 300mm silicon wafer production. Line, this is the backbone of domestic large silicon wafers.

The silicon wafer itself is extremely technically difficult and must have a high standard of purity. The surface height drop of the silicon wafer needs to be less than 1nm, the microparticles are less than 1nm, and the impurity content is less than one part in ten billion. , The tolerance of defect size is also decreasing, and the quality requirements will be more stringent in the future. Under this strict standard, the larger the silicon wafer, the more difficult it is.

The good news is that at present, local silicon wafer manufacturers not only supply Chinese mainland manufacturers such as SMIC, Hua Hong, Hualiwei, and YMTC, but also go global, including TSMC, GlobalFoundries, STMicroelectronics, UMC, etc. All of them have used large silicon wafers produced by manufacturers in mainland China.

According to the current production situation, the data shows that the production capacity of 300mm silicon wafers of Shanghai Silicon Group is 300,000 pieces/month, Zhonghuan Co. /Month, Yiswei can reach 500,000 tablets / month. In addition, there are media reports that, for example, the 300mm silicon wafer industry of super silicon semiconductors has reached 300,000 pieces per month.

In terms of production expansion, some research silicon shows that the 300mm silicon wafer project has been built by the end of 2020, and the production capacity has reached 300,000 pieces/month, while the Shanghai silicon industry is expected to add 300,000 pieces/month of large silicon wafer production capacity. It will be put into production in 2024. Zhonghuan Co., Ltd. plans to achieve a production capacity of 600,000 pieces/month of 300mm silicon wafers by the end of 2023. The second-phase project of Yi Siwei's silicon industry base is also under construction.

Therefore, according to incomplete statistics, the current total domestic production capacity of 300mm silicon wafers has exceeded 1.62 million pieces per month. With the new production lines of Shanghai Silicon Industry, Zhonghuan Co., Ltd., and Yi Siwei, the production capacity of domestic 12-inch silicon wafers has been put into operation. Will exceed 2.65 million pieces/month.

On the one hand, this wave of expansion is due to the strong demand in the domestic market, and on the other hand, it is affected by the global zinc shortage in the second half of 2020, including Japan's Shengco, Shin-Etsu Chemical and other major silicon wafer manufacturers have increased their prices, making the domestic semiconductor industry The chain falls into passive. With the entry of mainland silicon wafer manufacturers, the domestic industrial chain has more initiative.