TSMC: Advanced manufacturing processes are driving increased demand for nearby supply of raw materials, presenting opportunities for the mainland’s materials industry.

According to a report by Jiwei.com (written by Oliver), on September 10, the China Semiconductor Materials Innovation and Development Conference was officially held in Beilun, Ningbo. Chen Yingjie, Deputy Director of the Micro-Imaging Engineering Department at TSMC (Nanjing) Co., Ltd., stated that the demand for nearby supply of raw materials for advanced processes is steadily increasing, and opportunities for semiconductor materials on the Chinese mainland have now arrived.

Chen Yingjie pointed out that TSMC’s pursuit of advanced process technologies will not slow down. The company has more than 5,000 R&D engineers, and last year it invested over 2.8 billion U.S. dollars in the development of new products.

Chen Yingjie stated that the root of pursuing excellence in quality lies in the raw materials themselves. In semiconductor manufacturing processes, if metal ions and other polymers within semiconductor materials undergo polymerization, they will turn into impurities. As a result, process defects will increase significantly. Thus, we have entered an era where impurities are measured in parts per trillion.

From 8 inches to 12 inches, the number of semiconductor raw materials has increased from over 200 to more than 300, yet process specifications have been significantly reduced. Chen Yingjie emphasized that this will lead to an ever-growing demand for local supply—not just for price-related reasons.

Chen Yingjie stated that TSMC has extended its quality control to the supplier end. When critical raw materials can be produced closer to the point of use, the time spent on transportation and storage is reduced, and the aggregation effect can be effectively controlled. Materials such as mixed acids and photoresists have a very short time span from production to use, making local supply the best option in terms of both cost and other factors.

Finally, Chen Yingjie called for more resources to be allocated in the future to the research and development of high-end wafer manufacturing materials, thereby supporting the production of advanced integrated circuits.

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