16 key new material subdivisions of new quality productivity

In order to cultivate new quality productive forces, all parts of the country are speeding up the layout and development of emerging industries and future industries. A few days ago, the first issue of the journal of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, China Engineering Science in 2024, sorted out 16 key subdivisions of new materials for emerging and future industries from the perspective of global scientific and technological frontiers.

New materials for the development of emerging industries

1 Key materials for integrated circuits

The development of the key materials industry of integrated circuits in mainland China is focused on filling the gap in the domestic industry, and it is necessary to increase efforts to make up for shortcomings and ensure the safety and stability of the supply chain of the integrated circuit manufacturing industry. It focuses on the development of various key materials covering advanced logic products covering 130~90nm and 90~28nm technology nodes, complete sets of wafer manufacturing processes for advanced memory and complete sets of advanced packaging processes, including 193nm immersion photoresist and its supporting anti-reflective materials and special reagents, high-end logic processes and precursor series products for advanced storage, polishing slurries and polishing pads for high-end processes, special alloy targets and various materials for advanced packaging.

Vigorously improve the technical level of large-scale industries, improve the coverage of product varieties, strengthen the construction of product quality, service and supporting guarantee capabilities, enhance the comprehensive competitiveness of the industry, and increase the market share of products; Deploy and develop 20~14nm, 14~7nm and below technology generation logic products and key products for advanced memory needs, laying the foundation for products to enter the high-end market. We will step up the layout beyond the "Moore's Law" related fields and promote the development of carbon-based integrated circuit characteristic process materials. In the field of key materials for integrated circuits, we will build a technologically advanced, safe and reliable industrial system to play a supporting role in the integrated circuit industry.

2 Information functional ceramic materials

The development of communication technology has put forward the technical requirements of high-frequency broadband and ultra-low power consumption for new microwave filter devices, and put forward new challenges to the structure and broadband design principle of micro-small filter devices, ultra-low power consumption implementation methods and device processing and testing technology, and it is necessary to develop high-frequency and low-power design principles, integrated manufacturing and deviation correction fine-tuning technologies and device testing and evaluation methods for new microwave dielectric filter devices.

Concentrate on the development of low, medium and high dielectric constant low-temperature co-fired ceramic dielectric materials with excellent dielectric properties and suitable for the application of a new generation of passive integrated components; Solve the key common problems such as process matching of heterogeneous materials and stability under the external field in device integration, obtain the way to optimize the material structure, process, electrical properties and service characteristics, and promote the preparation of low-cost and high-performance dielectric materials for passive integrated devices. For the application of next-generation wireless communication and wearable electronic systems, the design, fabrication and integration technology of new passive devices based on autonomous dielectric materials are explored. Adopt the combination of basic research and application development of materials, adhere to the research route of material-device-process integration, and encourage scientific research units and production enterprises to work closely together to carry out collaborative innovation research.

3 Advanced energy materials

Issues such as green development and energy costs have become the core issues of economic and social development, and energy strategy is closely related to various fields, industries, links and market players. Focusing on different energy conversion and storage methods and principles, advanced energy materials need to focus on the development of fuel cell materials, thermoelectric materials, supercapacitor materials, solid lithium battery materials, biomass energy materials, optoelectronic materials and nano energy materials.

Accelerate the industrialization of new materials and components for hydrogen fuel cells, further promote the industrialization process of bismuth antimonide thermoelectric material system, develop key supercapacitor materials with excellent comprehensive performance, such as positive and negative electrode materials, functional electrolytes and separators, break through the problems of solid-state battery materials in conductivity, cost, mass production, etc., accelerate the industrialization of clean preparation and high-value utilization technology of biomass liquid fuel, and solve the problem of reduced conversion efficiency caused by the mass production of new photovoltaic materials. Realize the application of nanogenerators in important fields such as human-computer interaction, intelligent medical and bionic intelligent devices.

4 New display materials

In order to improve the localization rate of display core materials, explore new device structures, cultivate new materials and information system leading enterprises, achieve the goal of "changing lanes and overtaking" and leading the development of the industry, and overcome a number of key materials and technologies to improve display performance.

Specifically, it includes: the development of organic light-emitting diode/quantum dot light-emitting diode (OLED/QLED) printed display materials and devices, laser display materials and devices, micro-light-emitting diode (MicroLED) display materials and devices, light field display materials and technologies; Overcome a number of portable mobile display problems, such as low power consumption, drive technology, next-generation mobile communication technology, artificial intelligence system integration technology; Overcome a number of large-scale manufacturing problems and study flexible manufacturing technology; Driven by the demand for a new generation of high-visual light field display, and the overall coordination and synchronous development of the whole chain of materials, devices, modules, algorithms, and the whole machine as the research and development ideas, we will promote the innovation of the whole industry; Through scientific and technological research, breakthroughs will be made in the core materials and key technologies of nano-light-emitting diode (NanoLED) display, forming a first-mover advantage, and seizing the commanding heights of future display technology and industry.

5 Biomedical Materials

With the rapid development of biomedical materials, some high-end biomaterials and medical device products in mainland China continue to emerge. A series of osteoinduced artificial bones represented by medical hydroxyapatite ceramic materials, hydroxyapatite coatings and hydroxyapatite nanomaterials with bone tumor and osteoporosis treatment functions, bioresorbable materials and devices for the treatment of congenital heart disease and coronary heart disease, cardiovascular system repair based on recombinant humanized collagen, orthopedics, dentistry, dermatology, obstetrics and gynecology and other materials and device products, additive manufacturing materials and products, etc., are at the forefront of international development. Comprehensively promoting the R&D and production of related materials, developing a series of medical products, establishing a complete regulatory system, carrying out clinical application technology R&D and clinical application promotion, maintaining the technological leading edge of the mainland's original innovative products and developing the international market, seizing the commanding heights of international standards, and promoting products to the international are the keys to future development.

6 Bio-based materials

Bio-based materials have gained widespread attention as an important part of emerging industries. At present, in the field of bio-based materials, the mainland still faces many challenges in terms of raw materials, core technologies and industrial development, and is still in the "catch-up" stage compared with other advanced countries.

The biomaterials industry is facing challenges such as the lack of basic key technologies and industrial competitiveness, the insufficient industrialization of key or important products, and the low market recognition. The focus of future development is to realize the biological production and application of basic chemical products using starch and sugar as raw materials, and promote the chain, agglomeration and large-scale development of bio-based material industries such as bio-based polyester, bio-based polyurethane, bio-based polyesteramide, bio-nylon, bio-based epoxy resin, bio-rubber, bio-based/substance polymer, bio-based dielectric energy storage materials, and bio-based material additives.

7 Advanced Structures and Composites

Guided by the major needs of the country, with the goal of overcoming key core technologies, obtaining independent intellectual property rights and engineering applications, we will solve major scientific problems in material design and structural regulation, break through the bottleneck technology of preparation and application of structural and composite materials, and realize the independent development of advanced structural and composite material technology.

The development of new structural materials, high-performance polymers and their composite materials, high-temperature corrosion-resistant structural materials, lightweight and high-strength new materials, structural ceramics and their composite materials, major engineering structural materials, additive manufacturing materials based on cross-scale and multi-dimensional structural control, and a number of common bottleneck technologies such as material microstructure control, super toughness, extreme preparation and service have reached the world's advanced level; It has formed a world-class R&D and industrial system of advanced structure and composite material backbone new materials, and the innovation ability of structure and composite materials has entered the forefront of the world; The high-end structures and composite materials used in major equipment can be independently guaranteed, and the key core structural materials in the strategic field can be independently controlled.

8 Rare earth materials

Closely focusing on the national strategic needs, combined with future intelligent robots, smart cities, deep space/deep sea development, big data and human-computer interaction and other application scenarios, we will focus on the research of key technologies for engineering and industrialization, and strive to make breakthroughs in the core preparation technology, intelligent production equipment, special testing instruments and application technologies of advanced rare earth functional materials such as rare earth permanent magnet materials, rare earth luminescent materials, rare earth catalytic materials, rare earth crystal materials, high-purity rare earth metals and target materials;

Through the synchronous innovation of the whole industry chain, we will promote the promotion and implementation of advanced achievements, ensure the demand for key materials in strategic emerging industries, national defense and military industry, intelligent manufacturing, etc., and finally realize the independent supply of high-end rare earth functional materials; Carry out cutting-edge basic theory and experimental research, put forward more original theories and original discoveries through in-depth exploration and accumulation of scientific problems, and obtain a number of original achievements in new rare earth materials and new applications; Realize the strategic transformation of the mainland from a rare earth country to a rare earth power, and lead the future development of rare earth technology and industry.

9 Superconducting materials

Superconducting technology is a high-tech technology of strategic significance in the 21st century, which has important application value and application prospects in the fields of energy, medical care, transportation, scientific research, and national defense and military industry. Through the joint research of "production, education, research and application", the upgrading of the low-temperature superconducting materials industry in mainland China has been realized, the key technology of mass preparation of high-temperature superconducting materials has been broken through, and superconducting electrical equipment for power, energy, medical and national defense applications has been developed, so as to realize the coordinated development and large-scale application of superconducting materials, superconducting strong electricity and superconducting weak current products, and generally reach the international advanced level, creating and forming a strategic emerging industry based on superconducting materials and their application technologies.

New materials for the future industrial layout

1 Atomic manufacturing technology

Atomic fabrication technology is based on atomic-level quantum physics, with atomic-level functional primitives as the core, and the manufacturing technology of materials and devices carried out at the material limit level, which will give rise to major applications in the fields of logic, storage, sensing, superconductivity, catalysis, energy storage and optoelectronics, and significantly promote multidisciplinary cross-integration and technological development. In the future, it will focus on the development of cutting-edge new theories and concepts of atomic primitive design and its material device manufacturing, molecular primitive design and microsystem assembly manufacturing, primitive system and large-scale device manufacturing, atomic quantum state precision control and device manufacturing, and atomic manufacturing.

2. Silicon-based multi-material system integration and integration

The important research directions of silicon-based integrated optoelectronic devices/modules are: building a hybrid integrated process platform for silicon and advanced optoelectronic materials, giving full play to the ultra-large-scale and ultra-high-precision manufacturing characteristics of integrated circuit processes, and combining the advantages of optoelectronic characteristics of various materials to achieve a breakthrough in the preparation technology of high-performance hybrid optoelectronic integrated chips.

3 Carbon nanotube micro-nano electronic materials

Due to its high carrier mobility, carbon nanotubes can be applied to the manufacture of RF devices, improve the cut-off frequency and maximum oscillation frequency of RF devices, and are expected to be used in coupled nanooscillators in space communications, high-speed radio links, vehicle radar and chip-to-chip communication applications.

The bending resistance of carbon nanotubes makes them suitable for the manufacture of flexible and transparent electronic devices, which can improve the performance of display devices. With the progress of technology, the application scenarios of carbon-based semiconductors will become increasingly diversified, and the future application of carbon nanotube materials in the field of micro-nano electronics needs to focus on the preparation of carbon nanotubes, device stability, performance and integration, etc., and establish carbon nanotube material standards, characterization methods, and process flows for nanoelectronic devices.

4 Ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor materials

Continental's ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor materials are in the cutting-edge research stage, and the preparation of high-quality, large-size substrate materials is the focus of recent technological breakthroughs. Epitaxial materials based on high-quality substrate growth will become the basis of device fabrication, and overcoming the technical difficulties of device fabrication process will provide the possibility for the wide application of ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors. A series of problems, such as the large bandgap width, the high difficulty of single crystal preparation, the difficulty of efficient doping, and the difficulty of controlling the contact performance of the device, have become the obstacles to the application of ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors, which have brought major challenges to the development of ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors.

In the future, it is necessary to focus on the development of high-quality, large-size substrate material preparation capabilities, develop stable and efficient single-crystal growth and processing technologies with independent intellectual property rights, form a patent pool of ultra-wide bandgap materials such as single-crystal growth, defect control, and substrate processing technology, reserve relevant technical talents, and break through the industrialization technology of large-size and high-performance single-crystal substrates.

5 Metamaterials

Typical metamaterials, such as left-handed materials, "stealth cloaks", perfect lenses, etc., have been applied in optics, communications, national defense and other fields; A variety of electromagnetic metamaterials, mechanical metamaterials, acoustic metamaterials, thermal metamaterials and new materials based on the fusion of metamaterials and conventional materials have appeared one after another, forming an important growth point of new materials.

Facing the future development of the industry, it is also necessary to lay out optical metalens technology, metamaterial electromagnetic stealth technology, metamaterial antenna technology and metamaterial all-optical switch technology in advance, promote the research and application of metamaterial shock absorption technology and its application in precision machinery and major projects, develop new metamaterials for sonar, noise suppression and acoustic information technology, and new metamaterials for thermal energy utilization and conversion, thermal management and other fields.

6 Liquid metal

The applied basic research of liquid metal has developed into a major scientific and technological frontier and hot spot that has attracted wide international attention, bringing disruptive solutions and implementation means to many industries, and bringing changes to the development of technologies in the fields of energy, thermal control, electronic information, advanced manufacturing, national defense and military, flexible intelligent robots, and biomedical health.

In the future, this field also needs to focus on the development of functional materials such as liquid metal electronic paste, liquid metal thermal interface materials, liquid metal phase change materials, liquid metal conductive adhesives, liquid metal magnetic fluids, and liquid metal low-temperature solders. Research and development of liquid metal tumor vascular embolization preparation and treatment technology, liquid metal nerve connection and repair technology, liquid metal high-resolution angiography, liquid metal internal and external skeleton technology and injection electronics, liquid metal skin electronic technology, alkali metal fluid tumor ablation treatment technology and other cutting-edge medical technologies, as well as a series of innovative medical device products.

7 High Alloy

High-entropy alloys break the design concept of traditional alloys based on mixing enthalpy, and open up a broad composition design space for the research and development of new materials. High-entropy alloys can be applied in many key fields such as national defense, aviation, and aerospace, and it is of great strategic significance to develop and promote new high-entropy alloy materials with independent intellectual property rights. The focus of the development of high-entropy alloys includes lightweight high-entropy alloys, high-temperature resistant refractory high-entropy alloys, corrosion-resistant high-entropy alloys, irradiation-resistant high-entropy alloys, biomedical high-entropy alloys, eutectic high-entropy alloys, wear-resistant high-entropy alloys, hydrogen storage high-entropy alloys, catalytic high-entropy alloys, soft magnetic high-entropy alloys, etc.

Carry out practical application verification for future application scenarios and potential key application directions; In view of the service needs of national defense equipment applications, aviation, aerospace and other extreme environmental conditions, special high-performance high-entropy alloys are developed; Develop new high-entropy alloy structural materials for equipment with excellent comprehensive performance under wide temperature range working conditions, and realize the international strategic leadership of high-entropy alloys.