Supporting industries are the cornerstone of the integrated circuit and even the electronics industry
The semiconductor equipment and materials industry is collectively referred to as the supporting industry for integrated circuits. The integrated circuit industry is built on this supporting industry, and the electronic terminal system is built on the integrated circuit industry. Therefore, the semiconductor equipment and materials industry as a supporting industry is the foundation of the electronics industry.
In a sense, the manufacturing technology of integrated circuits is mainly in the hands of equipment suppliers and material suppliers, who play a key role in the development of integrated circuit manufacturing technology. Without advanced equipment and materials, it is impossible to manufacture advanced integrated circuits.
From the perspective of integrated circuit design, EDA (electronic design automation) tools are also the technical support for the design industry. Without EDA design tools, circuits cannot be simulated and integrated circuits cannot be designed. Therefore, EDA is the core of integrated circuit design, and semiconductor equipment and materials are the core of integrated circuit production technology and processes.
In addition, some countries in the world have imposed export controls on key semiconductor equipment on China, from which it is not difficult to see the importance of supporting industries in the integrated circuit industry.
The rapid development of the photovoltaic industry brings new opportunities to China's semiconductor support industry
After years of technical research and accumulation, China's semiconductor support industry has developed well. For example, ion implanters, etchers, diffusion furnaces, rapid thermal processing equipment, cleaning machines, glue coating and developing equipment used in the semiconductor front-end process, dicing machines, plastic sealing machines used in the back-end process, single crystal furnaces, grinders, polishing machines, etc. in material preparation equipment have all developed rapidly. Some of these domestic equipment have become increasingly mature, and some of them have been used in domestic 200mm and 300mm production lines. However, there are still few domestic equipment that have entered the 300mm and 90nm processes, not to mention the 45nm process. "No mass production experience" has become the weak point in the development of China's semiconductor support industry.
The rapid development of China's photovoltaic industry in recent years has brought new opportunities for the development of the supporting industry. Since solar-grade equipment and materials have relatively lower precision requirements than electronic-grade equipment and materials used in integrated circuit processes, China's semiconductor supporting industry has been provided with opportunities to mass-produce solar-grade equipment and materials, while also providing local equipment and material companies with very good development and profit points. With this opportunity, China's semiconductor supporting industry can expand rapidly and form a scale. The gradual development of solar energy, LED (light-emitting diode) and packaging and testing industries in China has provided China's semiconductor supporting industry with a technological gradient, enabling these companies to find market development points at different technical levels and accumulate valuable mass production experience. These mass production experiences, as well as the accumulation of mass production technology, management experience and funds, are very beneficial to the development of the integrated circuit industry.
At present, the development of the global semiconductor industry presents two major trends. The first trend is the slowdown of the growth of the global semiconductor industry and the decline of profit margins; the second trend is the rapid development of the photovoltaic industry and the LED (light-emitting diode) industry. LuxResearch (market research agency)'s latest forecast report on the solar energy market shows that global solar energy sales will increase from US$21.2 billion in 2007 to US$70.9 billion in 2012 at an average annual growth rate of 27%.
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