Shanghai Microelectronics launched China's first 2.5D/3D advanced encapsulated lithography machine

On February 7, Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group (SMEE) launched China's first 2.5D/3D advanced encapsulated lithography machine and officially delivered it to customers.

Figure | Shanghai Microelectronics Delivers China's First 2.5D/3D Advanced Encapsulated Lithography Machine to Customer (Source: Shanghai Microelectronics)

According to the introduction of Shanghai Microelectronics Company, the products running this release are a new generation of advanced encapsulated lithography machines, which will meet the high-performance computing needs of high-end data centers or high-end artificial intelligence chips, which have requirements for 2.5D/3D super-size chips.

The launch of the first 2.5D/3D advanced packaging lithography machine in China is also of great significance to the domestic chip industry. At present, one of the card neck technologies of domestic chips is the lithography machine.

Lithography machines can be mainly divided into three categories: front, rear and panel lithography machines. Among them, the front-channel lithography machine, which is currently the largest in the market, is mainly used to manufacture wafers, and the rear-channel lithography machine is mainly used for chip packaging. The 2.5D/3D advanced packaging lithography machine released this time belongs to the rear lithography machine, which is mainly used for packaging.

In the post-Moore's Law era, the route to improving chip performance is no longer limited to the pursuit of smaller line widths, and many wafer manufacturers are also looking to improve chip performance by employing more advanced packaging systems. That's why advanced packaging technology is not only a top priority for package manufacturers, but also for wafer manufacturers such as TSMC and Intel.

The path of exploration in chip manufacturing

China's semiconductor research and development can be traced back to the 1990s, when the main focus was on the design of ICs (integrated circuits) – that is, chips. After 30 years of journey, China has grown into a major player in IC design: by 2020, China's integrated circuit design has accounted for nearly 13% of the world's total.

Similar trends are occurring in areas other than IC design, especially in the manufacture of ICs. In addition, with the United States proposing a stricter semiconductor export policy and a long and sustained trade and technology confrontation, China has accelerated the development of the domestic semiconductor manufacturing industry, constantly striving to localize the most important elements in the semiconductor supply chain. In particular, the design and manufacture of high-end chip processing tools has doubled in pace.

Generally speaking, after obtaining the raw material - that is, the original silicon wafer, from the silicon wafer to the wafer processed into a dense integrated circuit, the entire manufacturing process of the chip can be divided into the following nine links: cleaning, diffusion, thin film deposition, lithography, etching, ion implantation, CMP (Chip multiprocessors, chip multiprocessor) polishing, metallization, testing, the process needs to use the cleaning machine, diffusion machine, film deposition equipment, lithography machine, glue developer, etching machine, ion implantation machine , CMP, testing equipment these nine key equipment.

In the manufacturing process of chips, which are ICs, lithography machines are the most basic part of the entire manufacturing chain. This field is also a relatively weak link in China's semiconductor industry, and Shanghai Microelectronics Equipment Co., Ltd. (SMEE) was also born in this context.

In 2002, the Lithography Machine Technology Research Project was first included in the National High Technology Research Program (863 Program). In the same year, Shanghai Electric Group established Shanghai Microelectronics Company. The company's research in the field of chip manufacturing continues to be included in the "02 special project". The full name of the "02 special project" is the "Extremely Large Scale Integrated Circuit Manufacturing Equipment and Complete Sets of Processes" project, which is called "02 Special Project" in the industry because it ranks second among the 16 major national special projects in China's "Twelfth Five-Year Plan". In the "02 special project", the development of the domestic lithography machine supply chain is one of the key tasks.

Since its inception, Shanghai Microelectronics Company has developed four major lithography machines, including IC front-channel manufacturing, IC post-channel advanced packaging, LED/MEMS/Power Devices manufacturing, and TFT exposure. Prior to this, Shanghai Microelectronics' most advanced lithography machine series was its "600 Series" for IC pre-channel manufacturing, which can meet the lithography process needs of key layers and non-critical layers of IC pre-manufacturing 90nm, 110nm, 280nm.

In September 2021, Shanghai Microelectronics also launched the SSB520 large field of view high-resolution advanced package lithography machine. It meets the needs of lithography processes with a resolution of 0.8 microns and a limit resolution of 0.6 microns. The engraving accuracy can also be improved to less than 100 nanometers by upgrading the motion, measurement and control systems, and the long-term stability performance is also very superior.

The SSB520 lithography machine can be mainly applied to the field of high-density isomer integration, which can help wafer advanced packaging companies to achieve multi-chip high-density interlocking packaging technology to meet the needs of flow integration into ultra-large chip package size. In addition, the exposure field of view of the lithography machine is available in two configurations: 53mm×66mm and 60mm×60mm, which can be better used in packages with heterogeneous integrated oversized chips.

In addition, it is reported that Shanghai Microelectronics (SMEE) is also developing a deep purple immersion lithography system at full speed, that is, a DUV lithography machine.

It is reported that Shanghai Microelectronics mainly provides front-road lithography machines to companies such as SMIC, Huahong Semiconductor, XE Semiconductor (GTA) and Changjiang Storage Technology Co., Ltd. In addition, China's leading chip packaging companies, including Riyueguang Semiconductor, Tongfu Microelectronics and the wafer manufacturing plants of Changjiang Electronics Group, are also equipped with Lithography Machines of Shanghai Microelectronics.

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