Wang Xuezé, Deputy General Manager and Chief Engineer of Jiangfeng Electronics, focuses on advanced process nodes for integrated circuit targets.

With the loading of the last box of target materials completed, Jiangfeng Electronics... 3 The monthly shipment target has been successfully completed. According to the company’s latest data, 3 For the first time, monthly sputtering target production exceeded 10,000 units, with both monthly target production and monthly shipments reaching all-time highs. Wang Xuezé, Deputy General Manager and Chief Engineer of the company, told a reporter from China Electronic News that although the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact, thanks to the substantial growth in China’s integrated circuit industry—and the ongoing expansion of capacity at many production lines—domestic demand for integrated circuit materials is also on the rise. As a demonstration enterprise that holds the national leading position in high-purity sputtering targets for integrated circuits, Jiangfeng Electronics has turned the “crisis” posed by COVID-19 into an “opportunity” for the company’s development, striving to become a world-class manufacturer of high-purity metals and sputtering targets.

    The impact of the pandemic on China’s semiconductor industry is temporary.

Wang Xuezé told reporters that the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic did not catch Jiangfeng Electronics off guard—thanks to the company’s relatively thorough preparations made in advance. “From the end of last year to the beginning of this year, we maintained close communication with our customers and secured orders for the first quarter of this year. In terms of figures, these orders have increased significantly compared to the same period last year,” said Wang Xuezé.

    1 Moon 24 On that day, Jiangfeng Electronics urgently established a COVID-19 prevention and control command center and subsequently set up additional centers. 11 A working group was established in advance to meticulously plan and arrange tasks. A team of Party members and core backbone personnel was assembled to form an epidemic-fighting vanguard squad. The group proactively procured anti-epidemic supplies such as masks, thermometers, and disinfectants, and carried out daily disinfection operations throughout the company. After fully resuming production, the company simultaneously focused on both epidemic prevention and production. All employees wear masks, undergo temperature checks upon entering the factory, undergo regular disinfection at designated times and locations, eat in staggered shifts, large-scale meetings have been canceled, leaders remain steadfastly at their posts, office staff provide support on the front lines, raw material stockpiles have been increased, and dedicated vehicles have been arranged for deliveries—all these measures have proven precise and effective. On the premise of ensuring zero infections among employees, the company has not delayed a single order. Production has maintained a tight yet orderly pace, and shipment volumes have repeatedly reached new highs.

Wang Xuezé presented a set of figures. Overall, Jiangfeng Electronics... 2 Shipment volume for the month increased compared to the same period last year. 70% In addition, sales for the first quarter of this year also remained steady. 30% growth. Although facing some short-term challenges, the pandemic has had an impact on Jiangfeng Electronics. 2020 The overall development strategy and direction for the year will not be significantly affected. As for how much of an impact the pandemic will have on the semiconductor industry as a whole, it’s still not entirely clear at this point. The semiconductor industry is a global one, and the pandemic has had a relatively greater impact on the downstream consumer market, which in turn will ripple through to the integrated circuit industry. Industry experts predict that the global semiconductor market will show a downward trend this year. However, China’s integrated circuit industry, thanks to its early and effective implementation of protective measures, as well as the substantial increase in consumer demand following the end of the pandemic, will likely see only temporary disruptions from the pandemic. Overall, the Chinese integrated circuit industry’s impact from the pandemic throughout the year will be limited, said Wang Xuezé to reporters.

    Domestic target materials are now available in large quantities.

Ultra-high-purity metal materials and sputtering targets are critical raw materials essential for integrated circuit manufacturing. In an interview with a reporter from China Electronic News, Wang Xuezé stated that in the field of sputtering target applications, integrated circuits have extremely stringent requirements regarding the purity of the metallic materials used in sputtering targets as well as their internal microstructure. To produce products that meet these process requirements, it is necessary to master key technologies throughout the production process and gain extensive practical experience over a long period. Consequently, sputtering targets for integrated circuits have the highest technical specifications and are also very expensive. While flat-panel displays and solar cells have slightly lower requirements for the purity and technical specifications of sputtering targets, as the size of the targets increases, higher demands are placed on indicators such as the welding bond strength and surface flatness of the sputtering targets.

Wang Xuezhe explained that the quality of sputtering targets directly determines the quality of chips. The manufacturing process for high-purity sputtering targets features high technological barriers and requires substantial capital investment in equipment, resulting in a relatively small number of enterprises with large-scale production capabilities—most of which are located in countries and regions such as the United States and Japan. In recent years, thanks to the country’s sustained strategic support for the development and application promotion of the electronic materials industry, China has begun to see a small number of enterprises specializing in the R&D and production of high-purity sputtering targets. These enterprises have successfully developed a batch of sputtering targets that meet the demands of high-end application fields, providing a solid R&D foundation and favorable market conditions for the large-scale industrialization of high-purity sputtering targets. By commercializing their R&D achievements in sputtering targets, these enterprises have actively participated in the international competition for sputtering targets, thereby reversing the long-standing unfavorable situation of China’s heavy reliance on imports for high-purity sputtering targets.

According to statistics from the China Electronic Materials Industry Association, 2019 The Chinese semiconductor materials market reached a size of ... in [year]. 81.90 hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars, and breakthroughs have been achieved in multiple fields. Among these, the technical standards for specialized products such as sputtering targets have reached world-class levels, enabling large-scale supply to local production lines. As the integrated circuit and flat-panel display industries continue to shift further toward mainland China, the market for high-end sputtering targets is poised to enter a period of rapid growth.

Tracking advanced process nodes for integrated circuits

Wang Xuezhe pointed out that downstream customers—such as those in the integrated circuit, flat-panel display, and solar cell industries—set high qualification barriers and require lengthy certification periods when selecting material suppliers, all in order to strictly control product quality.

For Chinese companies producing high-purity sputtering targets to enter the international market, they must first meet the industry-specific quality management system standards set by certain international organizations and industry associations—for example, semiconductor manufacturers serving the automotive electronics sector generally require their upstream sputtering target suppliers to be able to pass... ISO/TS16949 Quality management system certification—sputtering target manufacturers of electrical equipment must meet the requirements set forth by the European Union. RoHS Mandatory standard ; Second, downstream international manufacturers of integrated circuits, flat-panel displays, solar cells, and other products have all established highly sophisticated customer certification systems. On top of the industry-standard quality management system certifications that high-purity sputtering target suppliers must meet, downstream customers often conduct additional assessments of suppliers based on their own specific quality management requirements. 2 To 3 The annual certification for qualified suppliers covers all aspects, including product quality, delivery lead times, mass production capabilities, enterprise management, and production environment. Only after passing the certification can a supplier be designated as a qualified supplier.

“Although the certification process for high-purity sputtering targets is lengthy and involves complex procedures, once a supplier passes their qualification assessment, the two parties will maintain a long-term, stable cooperative relationship, and their supply-and-demand relationship is unlikely to change easily,” said Wang Xuezé. Currently, domestic semiconductor material companies such as Jiangfeng Electronics have mastered the key technologies for producing high-purity sputtering targets through digestion, absorption, and re-innovation, accumulating substantial industry experience and gaining considerable market recognition, thus earning the endorsement of globally renowned customers. Wang Xuezé told reporters that, taking Jiangfeng Electronics as an example, in the field of integrated circuit targets, in addition to meeting the capacity expansion plans of companies like SMIC and HuaHong Macro, and achieving growth in domestic sales, Jiangfeng Electronics is also actively exploring international markets, striving to establish strategic partnerships with internationally recognized integrated circuit firms and becoming a leading global supplier of integrated circuit targets. In the field of flat-panel display targets, Jiangfeng Electronics, while continuing to meet the demand for aluminum targets from major customers such as BOE and CSOT, has expanded its product offerings to include copper targets and molybdenum targets, thereby becoming a major supplier of flat-panel display targets in mainland China.

As the interview was drawing to a close, Wang Xuezé outlined Jiangfeng Electronics’ vision for future development to the reporter. He said that in the coming years, they would closely track cutting-edge international integrated circuit technologies and achieve the production of high-purity sputtering targets. 14-3nm Large-scale application of technology nodes ; Expand the application of large-size, ultra-high-purity target material manufacturing technology to achieve large-scale sales of these products in fields such as flat-panel displays, touch screens, wearable electronic devices, and the photovoltaic industry. ; Vertically integrate the industrial chain, vigorously develop the purification and preparation of high-purity metal materials, expand product profit margins, and cultivate key areas. PVD 、 Cardiovascular disease 、 CMP Machine component processing technology enhances core competitiveness and strengthens the company’s sustained profitability.