Toppan Japan has been developing photomask technology for EUV lithography machines for many years. During the past 5 years (2014~2108.04), Toppan Toppan published 37 papers related to key EUV photomask technology. Several times as many competitors in this industry show the depth of R&D.
Recently, ASML has announced that the EUV lithography machine NEX:3400B has reached a new milestone of 140 wafers per hour in the laboratory, and the light source power is 246 watts. At the same time, ASML's EUV lithography machine also won the honor of semiconductor manufacturers. The adoption of nanotechnology, including Samsung's first-generation 7-nanometer technology, and the second generation of 7-nanometer imported by TSMC in 2019, officially welcomed the EUV lithography era of the semiconductor industry.
Toppan also announced that it has shipped more than 300 EUV photomasks for testing to customers, and believes that the close cooperation between chip companies and photomask suppliers in the future will enable EUV lithography machines to be rapidly introduced into mass production on the market.
The past and present lives of Japan’s Toppan Shanghai Factory are innovations in China’s semiconductor cooperation between China and foreign countries.
Toppan entered the semiconductor photomask industry in 1961, and the Shanghai plant in China began production in 1995. The predecessor of the Shanghai edition of China’s Toppan was DuPont, the photomasking division of DuPont laid out the Chinese semiconductor industry very early, even Earlier than many Chinese first-line semiconductor fabs, however, after DuPont sold the Shanghai plant to Japan in 2004, it gradually withdrew from the industry.
The academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and also a well-known materials scientist Zou Shichang also participated in the construction of DuPont Photomask Shanghai Plant, Shanghai Huahong NEC, and Grace Semiconductor. He is a witness to the development of China's semiconductor industry.
Zou Shichang recalled that in 1993, he visited the DuPont headquarters in the United States, visited the New York factory, and learned about DuPont technology. He began commercial negotiations with DuPont. After several twists and turns, in 1995 the Shanghai company DuPont Photomask was formally established.
At the beginning of the establishment of Shanghai DuPont, the leadership of the management team was the US, and it continued to lose money in the first few years of its establishment. After the deliberations of the board of directors, from the Korean plant to the joint venture company as the general manager, after learning from overseas experience and the strategy of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, the Shanghai plant started in early 2000. It began to turn a profit, and at the same time raised the level of manufacturing of photomask technology in China to 0.25 micron to improve the quality of delivery and mass production.
Zou Shichang sensibly pointed out that the past and present of Japan's Toppan Printing Shanghai Plant is an innovative evidence of China's semiconductor cooperation between China and foreign countries.
He further pointed out that the immediate domestic semiconductors are flourishing, and fabs everywhere are blooming. However, the domestic high-end photomask technology is still weak. Most of them rely on foreign imports. In the future, it is hoped that the bumps will fill the gaps in high-end technologies and promote industrial development. The rise of China's industrial development is inseparable from domestic and foreign cooperation and the joint efforts of upstream and downstream.
Toppan wants to high-end 28/14nm, DRAM technology lands in China to sprint market share
Japan's bumps have successively transferred high-end technology to the Shanghai plant TPCS. The plant introduced 90nm photomask technology equipment in 2015, and will start producing 65/55nm technology in 2018, and then enter the logic process in 2018. 28/ Photomask production of 14nm, and DRAM's 1X/1Y process, is expected to invest 150 million US dollars to fully sprint the market share of the Chinese market.
At the same time, Japan Toppan will produce the highest-end photomask technology products locally in China, which will help shorten the delivery period and provide near-site services. The goal is to increase the market share of China's photomask market to 70% by the end of 2020.
In addition to investing in high-end technology, Japan Toppan also invested a photomask for EUV lithography machines several years ago. The high-energy, short-wavelength light source transfers the circuit pattern to the wafer. The wavelength of the EUV light source is deeper than the current deep ultraviolet light. The wavelength of DUV light source is about 15 times shorter, so it can achieve the purpose of reducing the line width continuously.
The photomask used in the EUV lithography machine employs microfabrication and optical design techniques to apply fine irregularities on the surface of the substrate, and tests over 300 different combinations of heights, spacings, shapes, materials, etc. to achieve success in reducing excess. The reflection of light reduces the unevenness of the line width of the circuit and facilitates the formation of fine semiconductor circuits.
The difference between the EUV photomask and the conventional photomask is that the conventional photomask selectively transmits light of 193 nm wavelength to project the circuit pattern onto the wafer, but when using EUV lithography at 13.5 nm wavelength All photomask materials are opaque, so a photomask with a composite multi-coated mirror reflects the circuit pattern onto the wafer.