The ultra-high-purity tantalum project for the manufacturing of ultra-large-scale integrated circuits has officially begun production in Lishui, Zhejiang Province.

On the morning of November 8, 2021, the commissioning ceremony for the ultra-high-purity tantalum project—intended for the manufacturing of ultra-large-scale integrated circuits—was held at the electron-beam furnace production area of Tongchuang (Lishui) Special Materials Co., Ltd. in the Lishui Economic and Technological Development Zone. Hu Haifeng, Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, attended the commissioning ceremony and announced the project’s official launch. Also attending the ceremony were Ye Tianchun, Chief Technical Advisor of National Project 02; Shi Ying, Secretary-General of the China Integrated Circuit Materials Industry Technology Innovation Alliance; and Dr. Yao Lijun, Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of Ningbo Jiangfeng Electronic Materials Co., Ltd.

Tantalum metal is an indispensable key material in the manufacturing of ultra-large-scale integrated circuits. Dr. Yao Lijun and his team have focused on major national needs in the chip industry and world-leading technologies, achieving breakthroughs in core technologies such as ultra-high-purity tantalum purification and electron-beam melting. They possess complete independent intellectual property rights, have fully localized the manufacturing equipment, and have filled a gap in this field.

Dr. Yao Lijun, a key shareholder of Tongchuang Purun (Shanghai) Special Materials Co., Ltd., stated that the project is equipped with six internationally advanced electron-beam furnaces—the largest in China. Once operational, the facility will have an annual production capacity of 400 tons of electronic-grade ultra-high-purity tantalum, and upon reaching full capacity, its annual output value will exceed 5 billion yuan.

Ye Tianchun, chief technical advisor of the National Key Project 02, stated that tantalum material processing plants are of great significance to China's domestic semiconductor raw materials industry. Enterprises such as Jiangfeng Electronics should fully leverage the advantages of the new national system for tackling key core technologies, strengthen their competitive strengths, strive to become world leaders in an increasing number of product categories, endeavor to secure an absolute dominant share in the global market, and build core competitive advantages.

Shi Ying, Secretary-General of the China Integrated Circuit Materials Industry Technology Innovation Alliance, fully affirmed the strategic significance of this project. She believes that the commissioning of the ultra-high-purity tantalum project for the manufacture of ultra-large-scale integrated circuits represents another milestone in the history of China’s development of target materials for integrated circuit manufacturing, laying a solid material foundation for the stable production and supply of ultra-high-purity tantalum targets in China.

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