1. The IC cleaning equipment market is in an oligopolistic pattern, see how domestic manufacturers get a share;
The micro-network news (text / Mao Mao), in the semiconductor industry, the semiconductor equipment industry in the most upstream of the industrial chain plays a pivotal role. In the semiconductor equipment market, in terms of process, wafer manufacturing equipment purchases account for approximately 80% of the total, test equipment accounted for about 9%, packaging equipment accounted for about 7%, other equipment accounted for about 4%. It can be seen that wafer fabrication equipment is the core part of the entire semiconductor equipment industry.
According to the SEMI report, global semiconductor manufacturing equipment revenue in the first quarter of 2018 was 17 billion US dollars, up 30% year-on-year, reaching a record high. According to the collection of micro-networks, the wafer manufacturing equipment contains eight major equipments, namely etching. Equipment, film equipment, lithography equipment, process control, test equipment, ion implantation, cleaning equipment, chemical mechanical polishing.
Among them, cleaning equipment is an important part of the semiconductor industry chain, used to clean raw materials and impurities that may exist in semi-finished products in each step, to avoid impurities affecting the quality of finished products and downstream products. Currently, cleaning equipment in wafer manufacturing equipment The procurement cost is about 5%, which is widely used in the production of monocrystalline silicon wafers, lithography, etching, deposition and other key processes.
Global semiconductor cleaning equipment is oligopolistic
According to public information, the global cleaning equipment market will be 2.7 billion US dollars in 2017, and with the rise of process nodes, the demand for cleaning equipment will continue to increase. It is expected to reach 3.5-400 million US dollars in 2020 and the average annual compound growth rate in 2015-2020. At 6.8%. At the same time, SEMI expects that China's chip manufacturing companies are expected to exceed 60 billion yuan in demand for cleaning equipment by 2020.
According to statistics, the number of cleaning processes accounts for one-third of the entire chip manufacturing process, which is an important part of chip manufacturing. For example, assuming a monthly production capacity of 100,000 DRAM production lines, the yield is reduced by 1%. , will lead to a loss of 30 to 50 million US dollars a year. Therefore, in order to improve the yield, enterprises will inevitably adopt more cleaning times.
From a technical point of view, common cleaning techniques include wet cleaning and dry cleaning. Among them, wet cleaning is still the mainstream in the industry, accounting for more than 90% of the cleaning steps. At the same time, the difference in process technology and application conditions makes At present, there are obvious differences in cleaning equipment on the market. Currently, the most important cleaning equipment on the market is single wafer cleaning equipment, automatic cleaning station and scrubber.
Throughout the global semiconductor equipment market, the entire industry presents a highly monopolistic, strong and strong situation, and the specific semiconductor cleaning equipment is the same. Currently, in the entire cleaning equipment market, Japanese companies dominate, about 60% of the market The share is occupied by Japan Screen, 30% of the market share is occupied by Tokyo Electron (Tokyo Electronics), other manufacturers include South Korea SEMES (fine beauty), the United States Lam Research (Pan Lin) and so on.
On the other hand, at present, in the eight major wafer manufacturing equipments, there are domestic equipment enterprises, and within the scope of a single process equipment, few domestic equipment companies compete with each other. Domestic brands each focus on one or two or three. The localization of the core process equipment. In terms of cleaning equipment, there are mainly Shengmei Semiconductor, North Huachuang and Zhichun Technology have layout, and there is a big difference between the products of the three.
Shengmei Semiconductor is the strongest in domestic cleaning equipment
At present, Shengmei Semiconductor, North Huachuang and Zhichun Technology are responsible for the localization of cleaning equipment. Among them, Shengmei Semiconductor has the strongest technical strength, and can achieve domestic substitution in a larger part of the cleaning process.
Shengmei Semiconductor was founded in 1998 and has been in existence for 20 years since its establishment. It was successfully listed on NASDAQ in the United States last year. For a long time, Shengmei Semiconductor has been focusing on single-chip cleaning equipment and created megasonic cleaning in 2009. SAPS) technology, at this time Hynix is being plagued by the cleaning problem of small particles. Taking this opportunity, Shengmei's first 12-inch 45nm single-chip cleaning equipment entered the Hynix Wuxi production line test, and Shengmei also started with Hynix. Expand long-term cooperation.
According to the report of BOCI Securities, the company's operating income in 2015-2017 was 86%, 24% and 18.1% respectively from Hynix. As of 2017, Shengmei sold more than 30 cleaning equipment, including Hynix. More than 20 units. In addition to Hynix, Shengmei also entered the Yangtze River Storage, SMIC, Shanghai Huali, Changdian Technology and other five customers.
From the technical strength point of view, Shengmei Semiconductor's technical strength has reached 14nm, and has begun to compete with Deanshi, Tokyo Electronics, Panlin and other companies. It is worth mentioning that in 2016, Shengmei once again created a power supply. Bubble shock megasonic cleaning (TEBO) technology. Currently SAPS technology has 22 invention patents, and TEBO technology applies for 8 PCT patents.
The layout of North Huachuang and Zhichun Technology in the field of cleaning equipment
Unlike Shengmei Semiconductor's main single-chip cleaning equipment, North Huachuang realized the localization of trough cleaning equipment through the acquisition of American Akrion. In August 2017, North Huachuang acquired Akrion for US$15 million. It is reported that Akrion is located. A company specializing in wafer cleaning equipment business in Pennsylvania, USA, mainly used in integrated circuit manufacturing, silicon wafer manufacturing, MEMS and advanced packaging. The company has many years of cleaning technology accumulation and extensive market and Customer base, cumulative online machine more than 1,000 units.
North Huachuang's self-developed 12-inch single-chip cleaning machine is mainly used in the pre-cleaning, regenerative cleaning, copper interconnection cleaning and aluminum pad cleaning processes in the integrated circuit chip process. After the acquisition of Akrion, the northern Huachuang cleaning The product line has been further supplemented. Up to now, North Huachuang has formed 8-12 inch batches and singles covering semiconductors in integrated circuits, advanced packaging, power devices, MEMS and semiconductor lighting in the field of cleaning equipment. Tablet cleaning machine products.
In addition to Shengmei Semiconductor and North Huachuang, Zhichun Technology also has a layout in semiconductor cleaning equipment, and it is also based on trough cleaning. To pure technology itself is to do ultra-pure gas and special chemical gas transportation, so we are doing wet method. The equipment has certain advantages. In 2015, through cooperation with international cleaning equipment manufacturers, Zhichun Technology started the development of wet process equipment. In 2017, it established a subsidiary to Micro Semiconductor as an independent semiconductor wet law division, dedicated to creating high-end wet methods. Equipment manufacturing development platform.
Up to now, the research and development of Zhiquan Technology in the above-mentioned fields has been fruitful. In 2017, the company has formed the tank wet cleaning equipment of Ultron B200 and Ultron B300 and the single-chip wet cleaning equipment series of Ultron S200 and Ultron S300. And has already obtained 6 batch orders.
Opportunities for domestic cleaning equipment manufacturers
According to SEMI data, in 2018, Fab's equipment procurement expenditure in China was close to 12 billion US dollars, up 67% year-on-year. It surpassed Taiwan and China to become the world's second largest semiconductor equipment market. By 2019, the purchase of semiconductor equipment in mainland China is expected to exceed South Korea ranks first in the world, reaching $18 billion, a year-on-year increase of 58%.
Undoubtedly, the huge increase in capital expenditure of mainland fabs will bring huge market opportunities for domestically produced equipment, and semiconductor cleaning equipment will also usher in good development prospects. In addition to market opportunities, domestic semiconductor cleaning equipment will also face Opportunities in advanced process technology.
As the process of the chip shrinks and the memory 2D changes to 3D, the production process becomes complicated, making cleaning the most repetitive step in the production of chips. In addition, the yield of wafer fabrication will decrease with the line width. One of the ways to increase the yield is to increase the cleaning process. In the 80-60nm process, the cleaning process is about 100 steps, and by the 20-10nm process, the cleaning process rises to more than 200 steps.
Although the strength of domestic semiconductor equipment manufacturers is still very weak in the global semiconductor equipment market, the road to success cannot be achieved overnight. Perhaps it is a step by step to achieve partial breakthroughs in such areas as cleaning equipment. It is currently a domestic semiconductor equipment manufacturer and The best way for international giants to compete. 223 million! Taiji Industrial Subsidiary and Haichen Semiconductor signed an 8-inch wafer plant construction contract;
On the 24th of July, Taiji Industrial announced that for the business operation needs, the company's holding subsidiary, Eleven Technology and Haichen Semiconductor, signed an 8-inch non-storage wafer plant construction project for Haichen Semiconductor. Construction project general contracting contract, the contract price is 2.316 billion yuan.
According to the disclosure, Haichen Semiconductor's 8-inch non-storage wafer plant construction project has a total construction area of 1,549,48 m2. The address is located in the east of Xinhong Road, Wuxi Xinwu District, west of Xizhang Expressway, east of the planned river, and the project completion date is October 20, 2019.
However, Wuxi Industrial Development Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as 'Industry Group'), the controlling shareholder of Taiji Industry, holds a 49.9% equity interest in Haichen Semiconductor. The signing of this contract will constitute a connected transaction.
Taiji Industry said that this transaction is the daily business needs of the subsidiary's 11 technology, which reflects the EPC leading position of the subsidiary 11 Technology in the IC industry. The signing of the contract will have a positive impact on the company's operating performance, which is beneficial to the company. Business development of Eleven Technology. (Proofreading / Spring and Summer)
3. UMC benefits from the 8吋 foundry price increase, and will show the kinetic energy during the second half of the year;
Wafer foundry UMC (2303), the former factor company and ship will go to the mainland A shares to attract market attention, 25th UMC will hold a law conference, Lyon Securities and other foreign investment estimates, UMC benefited 8 吋 wafer generation The price of labor will increase, and the second half of the year will show kinetic energy during the peak season. The EPS of the year will have the opportunity to challenge the three-year high.
Foreign-funded analysts are concerned about the three key points in the UMC law. In addition to the previous acquisition of the Japanese MIFS and the ship to the mainland listing plan, I hope to further explain, but also focus on the peak season.
Recently, due to the tight production capacity of the 8吋 fab, UMC's stock price was up-and-coming. Yesterday (23), it was benefited from the investment of five consecutive shares. It ended up 2.2%, closing at 18.25 yuan, stronger than the broader market, and the highest intraday price was 18.65 yuan, hitting 2010. Over seven years of new years.
Lyon, HSBC Securities and other foreign capital forecasting fundamentals, that the second half of the year, UMC showed a high probability of kinetic energy in the peak season, the third quarter profit range of 2.1 billion to 3.6 billion yuan, higher than the second quarter of 1.2 billion to 2.3 billion.
Among them, Lyon previously announced the acquisition plan in UMC, and the double-up UMC rating was reduced from 'subtraction' to 'plus', and the target price rose to 18 yuan.
In addition to optimistic about UMC's benefit from 8 吋 foundry, the company is also optimistic that EPS will come to a three-year high this year. From next year, the benefits of M&A will be harvested and EPS is expected to continue to grow.
Lyon expects that UMC will benefit from the semiconductor trend this year. EPS will come to 0.92 yuan, 2019. In 2020, it will purchase the Japanese-made MIFS 12-inch fab and then increase it to 1.49 yuan and 1.8 yuan.
Lyon believes that UMC's acquisition can yield results from two major factors. First, it is cheap to buy. The price of acquiring MIFS is about twice the net worth ratio of the company. It is also worthwhile to eat MIFS 12吋 at NT$16 billion. The cost of mainland Huahong Semiconductor's 12-inch plant is much lower.
Secondly, MIFS Lijijia, with ultra-low power process, cut into 5G IoT RF, millimeter wave and other technologies. And in MIFS bring value-added benefits, Lyon estimates that next year's acquisition will increase the revenue of UMC by 11%. Profit increased by 6%. Economic Daily
4. The impact of the price increase of MLCC is expanding, and the price of HDD products is rising!
Set micro-network news, starting last year, price increases from semiconductor silicon wafers, passive components, MOSFET all the way to resistors, aluminum electrolytic capacitors, diodes. At the beginning of this year, not only Guoju, Lizhi Electronics and other price increase resistors, Nikko , Zhibao and other prices increase the price of aluminum electrolytic capacitors, diodes are also difficult to escape the price trend.
At present, the most concerned is still MLCC, MLCC out of stock price has not yet stopped. Also benefited from MLCC out of stock price increases, Taiwanese manufacturers Guoju, Huaxinke, Heshentang and mainland manufacturers Fenghua Hi-Tech and other revenues all the way up .
At the same time, under the influence of MLCC out of stock, some products using MLCC will also usher in price increases.
On July 23, according to the Nikkei News, the price of the MLCC used for the electronic hard disk (HDD) electronic substrate was out of stock, and the price increased. In the case of increased costs, HDD manufacturers began to raise the price, so that the HDD continued to decline. Wholesale prices are expected to rise.
HDD prices are rising, but they can't stop the factory.
According to many market stakeholders, after entering June, some HDD manufacturers are exploring the possibility of raising the HDD price based on the price of MLCC. The head of the sales business of a HDD factory pointed out that 'the price increase The environment has been improved.'
According to the report, the wholesale price of 3.5-inch 1TB products as HDD pointer products during the April-June period was US$42.5 per share, down 13% from the same period of last year, but prices are expected to pick up in the future. According to reports, some HDD products have been priced since July. It has risen by about 5%.
However, it is worth noting that in recent years, the market demand for HDD is declining year by year, and some big companies are closing HDD factories.
For example, Western Digital, after the acquisition of SanDisk, began to fully bet on the NAND flash business. Meanwhile, due to the decline in demand for mechanical hard drives, Western Digital has decided to close the HDD hard drive factory in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia by the end of 2019, 2016 Western Digital The company HGST has closed its hard disk factory in Penang, Malaysia.
Western Digital officially issued a statement saying that 'in response to the long-term decline in demand for HDD hard drives, Western Digital has taken steps to rationalize the global hard disk manufacturing business, and will discontinue the hard disk manufacturing plant in Petaling Jaya by the end of 2019. Employees, customers, supplier partners and other stakeholders maintain close cooperation. '
Western Digital indicates that the data technology industry is undergoing major changes. This transformation is driving NAND flash and SSDs to replace traditional HDD hard drives. This change has also brought about a growing demand for NAND/SSD and a decline in HDD hard drive demand. So Western Digital decided to expand Penang's SSD manufacturing. Business, the company is in the final stage of the construction of the second SSD plant in Penang and will be put into production in the next few months.
Price increase from MLCC
It is not difficult to find that even if the HDD ushers in the price hike, it does not mean that this market will usher in a new life, but it is more like a 'last carnival'. After all, this price increase comes from the MLCC out of stock, not the HDD market demand.
In fact, it is not difficult to find that under the MLCC out of stock and price increases, other products in the supply chain will be affected.
It is understood that the MLCC price increase for more than a year will not stop, and will continue to increase in the second half of this year, which will also drive the upstream manufacturers' revenue and profitability to rise sharply. Take Guoju Electronics as an example, this May. The monthly profit was NT$3.5 billion, up 1073% year-on-year, the gross profit margin was nearly 70%, and the net interest rate after tax was 55%. The stock price has also risen sharply this year. The stock price broke through NT$1,000 at the beginning of the year, up 10 times year-on-year. .
With the high-performance demand of smart phones, the electronicization of vehicles and the demand for the upcoming 5G equipment will also lead to the continued tight supply and demand of MLCC. Therefore, the global leading factory Murata has recently announced plans to increase the price of all MLCC products. 3 percent.
Moreover, this price hike is still continuing. Yesterday, Nikko said that due to the sharp increase in prices of raw materials, rising labor costs and tight demand for aluminum electrolytic capacitors, the price of aluminum electrolytic capacitors will be adjusted. Among them, high conductivity The price of the molecular point increased by 7% during the same period. This price will take effect from August 1.
Regarding the supply and demand situation of MLCC, Guilong Fu, an analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities, pointed out that 'it can be said that it is a tight feeling that has never been seen before.' Originally, electronic equipment manufacturers wanted to buy MLCC immediately, but now they must Wait a half year.
However, some analysts pointed out that the weak sales of smartphones may have caused MLCC demand to peak. US-China trade friction may lead to a slowdown in the global economy, and the export of Chinese-made electronic products equipped with MLCC to the US is likely to decrease. However, analysts believe that Even in this case, the MLCC may continue to be in short supply in the coming year.
Under the influence of MLCC, it is conceivable that in addition to the HDD market, there will be more applications for MLCC products to usher in price surges! (Proofreading/Jimmy)
5. The national giant 'ups' the wind re-starts?
The passive component stock kingdom giant company rebounded on the 2nd, yesterday (24) received 893 yuan (NTD, the same), will soon fight 900 yuan mark, driving small and medium-sized price increase stocks to rise, pull up the cabinet to buy index It rose 1.3%, far better than the weighted index rose 0.4%.
The latest foreign investment reports of France, Paris, JP Morgan (JPMorgan) and HSBC Securities have all been upgraded to the national giant with a target price of 1,650 yuan. It is expected to add investment sentiment to the recently strengthened price increase stocks.
The legal person analyzes that the foreign capital has raised the target price of the national giant, and the report also raises the fundamental forecast. It can also pay attention to whether the legal person circle is a group of ups and downs. Due to the recent local investment, there are Guotai and other investors to raise the target price. For example, Cathay Pacific will raise its expected stock price to 1,500 yuan in the future, and also raise the profit forecast. In the past, the country's giant energy 掀 'price increase (share price rise)' wind, the biggest motivation comes from the legal person's upward adjustment, so that there will be more institutions in the market. Into and pull the buying, get attention.
After the country’s giants fell, they saw a turning point. Recently, Faba, Xiaomo and HSBC Securities, which are tracked by the “only three” in the foreign investment circle, have invariably grasped the investment sentiment, and the passive components in the market may raise prices again, and successively released the national giant. Target price up report.
The highest price was HSBC's rise from 1,550 yuan to 1,650 yuan, and the small motorcycle was originally 1,650 yuan. After the state giant removed the interest rate, the new target price adjusted for the interest rate was 1,377 yuan, and it is now raised to 1,550 yuan. 1,455 yuan is raised to 1,545 yuan.
HSBC believes that the national giant has recently fallen sharply, and there are many noises from the market, but the fundamentals have not changed. In the second quarter, the profits of the national giants have doubled compared with the previous quarter, and the strength continues. The upcoming third season will also be high, which is worthy of attention. .
HSBC said that the focus of the company's third quarter operation lies in chip resistance. It is estimated that due to the continuous implementation of environmental protection policies in the mainland, the chip resistors are in short supply, and the national giants' quotations are again increasing. Reflected in the earnings report, it is predicted that the third quarter revenue of the national giant will be higher than that. The quarterly increase was 37%, and the gross profit margin increased from 68% to 70%, which was better than the original HSBC financial forecast, so the target price was raised.
JP Morgan Chase also made a profit based on the second season of the National Giant. According to this, the EPS forecast for the future will be 99.35 yuan and 135.45 yuan respectively from 2018 to 2019.
Faba believes that the supply of MLCC and chip resistors will be tight all the time. Even if the demand for smart phones and PCs slows down, the demand for passive components will continue to be driven by the trend of car networking. Faba is profiting for the country from 2018 to 2020. Estimated, the overall increase of 30%, EPS each came to 109.32 yuan, 134.28 yuan and 140.04 yuan. Economic Daily
6. Taiwan MOSFET chip manufacturers have to raise prices;
Although the foreign MOSFET chip makers started to increase their prices in the second half of 2017, the industry and the market have been rumored that the MOSFET chip suppliers are expected to follow up, and even the subsequent silicon wafer prices continue to increase. And the 8-inch foundry quotation also confirmed the news of shouting, it seems that it also obviously assists the Taiwanese MOSFET chip makers, but including Taichung, Fuding, Jieli, Nixon and other Taiwanese IC design companies, but always eloquent I dare not give a signal that will also follow up the price of MOSFET chips. Taiwan MOSFET chip suppliers bluntly, did not grab more 8-inch wafer capacity, casually speaking to customers, the price is actually not responsible, However, the 8-inch wafer foundry capacity that is actively pursued in the second half of 2018 is expected to be in place. In addition, in 2019, in the new capacity layout, there will be more obvious exhibitions, and the expected MOSFET chip factory is expected. The official increase in the price of the quotation will also start to fire. In fact, the Taiwan MOSFET chip supplier settles the first half of the 2018 revenue performance, the annual growth rate is as high as 20% or more, and even the second quarter revenue growth rate is more The higher the trend, the market with the terminal MOSFET chip It needs to be tight, and even the phenomenon of short supply is closely related. This also shows that Dazhong, Fuding, Jieli and Nixon did not increase the quotation of MOSFET chips along with foreign companies in the second half of 2017, and first pursued a higher market share at the client side. The strategy of the rate is correct. The supplier of Taiwan MOSFET chips also emphasizes that the layout of new products, new customers and new markets is strengthening every year, and there will be corresponding capacity expansion plans. Therefore, the price of the terminal MOSFET chip Maintaining high-end, coupled with the increase in shipments of its own MOSFET chips, the two-plus-multiple, the company's settlement of the growth performance of the first half of revenue and profit figures in 2018, is clearly in line with internal expectations. However, in response to 2018 At the beginning of the year, the production capacity of 8-inch wafers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait was obviously tight. Even the order visibility was from 6 to 8 weeks ago, and it was directly extended to more than 12 weeks. Taiwanese MOSFET chip suppliers rushed to actively strive for capacity activities. It is expected that after the second half of 2018, the cost of these new 8-inch wafers has increased significantly. After effective communication with customers, Taiwan MOSFET chip suppliers have begun to admit. The quotation of its own MOSFET chip will indeed start to increase in response to rising costs. It is expected that this will help the company's continued growth in the second half of 2018. But the supplier of Taiwan MOSFET chips also admitted that more 8 inches. The foundry capacity is going to be planned, and I am afraid that it will be delayed until 2019. Therefore, for the company, the larger revenue and profit growth trend should be next year, but only if the global MOSFET chip market The supply and demand forces are still in a tight position. After the foreign companies have recently raised the quotation of MOSFET chips, the internal growth performance of the company's follow-up operations is naturally optimistic. DIGITIMES