A startup founded by a team of Ph.D.s from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. A semiconductor key materials company has raised hundreds of millions of yuan in Series B financing. Its products have passed the verification of customers such as Luowei Optoelectronics and Longtu Photomask. | Exclusive Report by Yingke

Author | Lin Qingqing

Editor | Peng Xiaoqiu

Yingke learned that recently, the semiconductor material enterprise "Zhongke Zhuoer" has completed the capital delivery of the leading investor in Series B. The leading investor is the Chengdu Jiaozizhongying Innovation and Development Fund under BOC International Investment. Meanwhile, multiple follow - on investment institutions are also rapidly advancing, with the total financing scale of Series B reaching 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 was established by Professor Yang Wei. The company has broken through the key technologies of precision polishing and coating of 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 problems in the semiconductor blank mask template industrial chain. Its main products cover blank mask templates for semiconductors/displays with a process of 130 - 250nm (products 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 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, and the equivalent demand in China is about 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 estimated to be less than 1%, and the domestic industry urgently needs to break the deadlock. Meanwhile, 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 enterprises 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 Yingke that "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."

Yingke 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 uniformity of ±2% (the international standard is ±5%); the defect detection system can identify defects of 0.3 microns and correlate 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 in more advanced nodes within 100nm.

In terms of commercialization, its blank mask templates have passed the verification of Luwei Optoelectronics, Longtu Photomask, and multiple domestic enterprises. Currently, the Chengdu pilot line of "Zhongke Zhuoer" has completed process and product verification. This round of financing will focus on promoting the construction of mass - production capabilities.

The team of "Zhongke Zhuoer" is led by Professor Yang Wei. Academician Jiang Wenhan, his tutor, serves as the chief scientific advisor and has been involved in guiding the defect detection and quality control of mask substrates. The core technology team includes multiple doctors and industrial expert advisors, who are responsible for core processes such as polishing, coating, and detection respectively.

Views 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 material field. The team has more than a decade of industrial accumulation, which is highly in line with the national strategy of 'independence in high - end manufacturing'. We will fully support its rise to become an industry leader through the integrated service of 'investment banking + commercial banking'."

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 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."