Ein Startup von einem Team aus Doktoren der chinesischen Akademie der Wissenschaften: Ein Unternehmen für kritische Halbleitermaterialien hat mehrere Hundert Millionen Yuan in der Serie B-Rundung finanziert. Seine Produkte wurden bereits von Kunden wie Luowei Optoelectronics und Longtu Photomask validiert | Exclusive Report von Yingke
Autor | Lin Qingqing
Redakteur | Peng Xiaoqiu
Hard Kr has learned that recently, the semiconductor materials company "Zhongke Zhuoer" has completed the capital delivery for the Series B led investment. The leading investor is the Chengdu Jiaozitou Zhongying Innovation and Development Fund under BOC International Investment. Meanwhile, several follow - on investment institutions are also making rapid progress. The total scale of the Series B financing amounts to hundreds of millions of yuan. The funds will be used for the process R & D of quartz mask substrates for semiconductor lithography, the construction of domestic production lines, and the breakthrough of mass - production bottlenecks.
"Zhongke Zhuoer" was founded in 2018 and led by Dr. Yang Wei, a tutor from the Institute of Optics and Electronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The company has made breakthroughs in the key technologies of precision polishing and coating for semiconductor mask substrates, and has the R & D and production capabilities from processes to core equipment. It has also undertaken the national project for tackling key issues in the semiconductor blank mask template industry chain. Its main products cover blank mask templates for semiconductors/displays with a process of 130 - 250nm (products with a process of 28 - 90nm are being actively reserved and developed) and related core equipment.
As the graphic transfer carrier in the lithography process, the blank mask template is the core material for lithography machines used in chips and displays, directly affecting the lithography accuracy and product yield. Based on the data from multiple research reports, the global market size of blank mask templates in 2024 is approximately 3.6 billion US dollars, and the Chinese demand is equivalent to approximately 10 billion yuan. The Chinese mainland's demand for mid - to high - end blank mask templates is highly dependent on imports and is currently almost monopolized by a few companies such as Japan's HOYA, Japan's Shin - Etsu Chemical, and South Korea's KTG. The domestic production rate is expected to be less than 1%, and the domestic industry urgently needs to break the situation. At the same time, the core equipment in the production of blank mask templates, such as electron beam exposure and defect detection, has long been subject to export controls by the United States and Japan, restricting domestic production expansion.
Currently, there are only 4 - 5 companies on the Chinese mainland that can stably supply third - party quartz blank mask templates in small batches, and the key process equipment still relies on imports. Yang Wei, the founder of "Zhongke Zhuoer", told Hard Kr that "the production lines relying on imported equipment are at risk of shutdown" and pointed out that "under the existing lithography technology route, the mask template, as a key material, still has an irreplaceable period of about 10 years."
Hard Kr has learned that in terms of technology, "Zhongke Zhuoer" has achieved three independent breakthroughs. Among them, the ultra - precision polishing process has achieved a surface roughness better than 0.2 nanometers (the international mainstream level is 0.3 nanometers); the magnetron sputtering coating equipment has achieved a film layer uniformity of ±2% (the international standard is ±5%); the defect detection system can identify 0.3 - micron - level defects and associate production data. Yang Wei said that currently, domestic blank mask templates have achieved technological parity in the 130 - 500nm process, but further breakthroughs are still needed at more advanced nodes within 100nm.
In terms of commercialization, its blank mask templates have been verified by companies such as Luwei Optoelectronics, Longtu Photomask, and several domestic self - developed lithography machine manufacturers. Currently, the pilot production line in Chengdu of "Zhongke Zhuoer" has completed the process and product verification. This round of financing will focus on promoting the construction of mass - production capabilities.
The "Zhongke Zhuoer" team is led by Dr. Yang Wei, a tutor from the Institute of Optics and Electronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a professor at Xihua University, and the director of the academic committee. He has participated in the R & D of the national 02 special project. His tutor, Academician Jiang Wenhan, is the chief scientist for the development of the first domestic lithography machine and has been involved in guiding the defect detection and quality control of mask substrates. The core technology team includes several doctors and industrial expert consultants, who are responsible for core processes such as polishing, coating, and detection respectively.
Opinions of investors:
The person - in - charge of the BOC International Investment project said: "Zhongke Zhuoer has technological scarcity and industrial chain positioning advantages in the semiconductor materials field. The team has more than a decade of industrial accumulation, which is highly in line with the national strategy of 'independent high - end manufacturing'. We will use the integrated service of 'investment banking + commercial banking' to fully support it to become the industry leader."
The person - in - charge of the Sichuan Dingxiang project said: "Since our investment in Zhongke Zhuoer in the angel round, we have witnessed the company gradually develop into a leading enterprise in the domestic blank mask template field. It has completed the construction and operation of the pilot production line with self - developed equipment and processes, covers multiple key industrial links, and has a relatively high domestic production rate. We are very optimistic about the industrial and commercial value of Zhongke Zhuoer in the process of domesticating mid - to high - end blank mask templates."