Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

When Chinese netizens and various friends and businessmen were attracted by the various new factory construction plans of the Nanshan Group, Nanshan Chemical ushered in an important breakthrough.

"Mr. Cao, our EUV photoresist has been successfully developed and will enter mass production as soon as next month."

Lai Yuanhong came to Cao Yang's office in a very good mood and personally reported the important breakthrough of Nanshan Chemical.

The Spring Festival is coming soon, and Nanshan Semiconductor is still worried about whether there will be photoresist for their use after the New Year.

Now Nanshan Chemical has successfully solved the EUV photoresist, and coupled with other types of photoresists that have made breakthroughs in the past, it can be said that the photoresist problem that plagued Nanshan Semiconductor has been completely solved.

The next step is not only to meet its own photoresist needs, but also to consider promoting it to all semiconductor companies in China for use.

The good days of photoresist companies in the United States and Japan will be completely gone forever.

"Has the performance of our own photoresist been compared with similar products from JSR and other companies?"

Although Cao Yang is very confident in the performance of the EUV photoresist he personally participated in the research, the specific testing work is still led by Lai Yuanhong and others.

So I definitely still need to ask clearly.

In case some problems arise during the use of Nanshan Semiconductor, the losses will be huge.

"Our sensitivity is slightly lower than JSR's, but the contrast is higher than theirs."

"The etching resistance ratio is basically at the same level as theirs, and the exposure latitude is basically the same, but there is still room for improvement."

Lai Yuanhong introduced the main performance indicators at once.

Sensitivity is a measure of exposure speed.

The higher the sensitivity of the photoresist, the smaller the exposure dose required.

Although the sensitivity of the EUV photoresist produced by Nanshan Chemical is slightly lower than that of JSR, it does not affect its use. It just consumes a little more photoresist.

The contrast directly affects the resolving power of the glue.

The steeper the photoresist transition from the exposed area to the unexposed area, the better the contrast and the steeper the sidewalls forming the pattern, the better the resolution.

Nanshan Chemical's performance in this area is obviously very good.

As for the etching resistance ratio, this performance is usually expressed as the ratio of the etching speed of the glue to the speed of etching the substrate material, also known as the selectivity ratio.

For example, if the etching resistance ratio of a certain photoresist to silicon is 10, this means that when the etching speed of silicon is 1 μm/min, the etching speed of the photoresist is only 100nm/min.

The level of the etching resistance ratio also determines how thick the glue layer is required to etch the substrate to a certain depth.

As for the exposure tolerance, it is not easy for Nanshan Chemical to achieve a level similar to that of JSR.

What is the significance of this indicator?

Even though the exposure dose used during photolithography deviates from the optimal exposure dose, a good pattern can still be obtained, indicating that this photoresist has a large exposure latitude.

Under normal circumstances, photoresist has an optimal exposure dose. During photolithography, the exposure dose on the entire wafer package surface should be consistent and as close as possible to the optimal exposure dose.

However, in the actual production process, there will inevitably be dose deviations due to the influence of the external environment.

Glue with a large exposure latitude is less affected by fluctuations or uneven exposure energy and is more suitable for production needs.

So this indicator is good and it is very meaningful for Nanshan Semiconductor.

Otherwise, if your photoresist has very high process requirements, the yield rate will be low and the production cost will be high.

"So, after our EUV photoresist is produced, it can immediately begin to replace similar products from JSR and other manufacturers?"

This issue is what Cao Yang is most concerned about.

After all, as a boss, you must value results.

When the results are good, focus on the process.

Otherwise, there will be no good results and everything will be meaningless.

"Yes, other indicators, whether it is thermal fluidity, expansion performance, viscosity and shelf life, are no worse than others."

"At that time, we can form a full range of photoresist production for chip production, so that imported photoresists will slowly withdraw from the Chinese market."

"The next step can even further develop other types of photoresists such as photoresists for LCD displays, so that the production capacity of our production lines can be fully utilized."

For many products, China does not have any production capacity at all, but if there are not enough orders or the market is small, then it will not be economical.

For example, some photoresists were actually produced in laboratories by universities or research institutes before.

However, the defective rate is relatively high, and large-scale production requires investment in specialized equipment.

And these devices don't come cheap.

Many companies are afraid to invest before they are sure that their photoresist can be sold on a large scale.

Not to mention that these universities or research institutes are already short of money.

It would be good if the funds applied for every year can be used to write a thesis.

Where can you find so much funds for industrialization?

After all, chemical materials are different from machinery.

Whether you are good or bad is sometimes not so intuitive.

And no matter whether you are good or bad, it is often difficult for people to believe that you are doing better than traditional giants.

"Now that we have fixed the photoresist, let's boldly go into production."

"Nanshan Semiconductor is still building new chip factories, and some other semiconductor companies also have demand for photoresist."

"By then, both high-end EUV photoresists and relatively low-end products can be produced."

"After all, 90% of photoresist is now imported from Japan and the United States. Even for low-end products, the profit margin is relatively high."

In the past, when producing various products, Cao Yang often chose to produce high-end products and left low-end products to other companies.

After all, you can’t just go it alone in any industry, as that often doesn’t end well.

But this time the situation with photoresist is different.

Although there are some companies in China that produce photoresists, most of the photoresists they produce are used in other industries, and very few are used in the chip processing field.

So even relatively low-end photoresists are produced by a few companies in Japan.

And low-end is also relative. High-end photoresist costs 10,000 yuan per liter, but low-end ones cost several hundred to thousands of yuan per liter.

These things are essentially chemical materials. After large-scale industrial production, the actual cost may be less than one hundred yuan per liter.

This is based on the fact that they provide employees with extremely high welfare benefits and a variety of high-end environmental protection equipment.

Otherwise, it can be even lower.

Therefore, if Nanshan Chemical produces these photoresists, the cost will not be a 50% or 30% discount compared to the current market price, but only a few tenths of a discount.

Especially high-end EUV photoresist, which can be produced at less than a discount.

So if JSR sells for 10,000 yuan per liter and Nanshan Chemical Pharmaceutical sells for 5,000 yuan per liter, you can make a lot of money.

In this case, the photoresist business can definitely be done well.

The scale of China's semiconductor industry will definitely grow in the future, and the demand for photoresist will also grow.

The benefits behind this are not small at all.

"I will first invest in a new production line according to the currently planned production line, and then I will communicate with Nanshan Equipment, and then invest in a large-scale automated production line in the second half of the year to increase our production capacity and production efficiency. "

"At that time, the photoresist produced by us may be able to meet most of the domestic market demand."

Cao Yang agreed that Nanshan Chemical would launch a new photoresist project as soon as possible, and Lai Yuanhong would naturally not be polite.

He is ready to take advantage of this market and make all the companies that blocked Nanshan Semiconductor regret their decision.

"Remember to do a good job in publicity and let other chip companies know that we have conquered all photoresist products for chip production. The plan of the United States and Japan to choke us will fail."

The aroma of wine is also afraid of the deep alley.

Not to mention that publicity that Nanshan Chemical has mastered photoresist can severely hit people who are waiting to see Nanshan Semiconductor's joke. Even if it is to make Nanshan Chemical better sell photoresist, it must be well publicized.

Related companies in the Nanshan Group can enjoy unique advantages in the field of publicity.

Whether it is Weibo or China Channel and other influential platforms, they all have a preference for Nanshan-based companies.

Of course, this is also because companies in the Nanshan Group are very competitive and deserve this preference.

Otherwise, many platforms have to consider whether to avoid suspicion.

After Nanshan Chemical and Nanshan Semiconductor released information on their official WeChat accounts to conquer EUV photoresist technology and comprehensively solve the risk of photoresist products getting stuck, Cao Yang took the lead in forwarding it.

This information immediately became a hot search in a short period of time.

Even many stars in the Chinese entertainment industry joined in the fun by retweeting Cao Yang's Weibo and giving it a like.

Those who are a little more knowledgeable should write two comments to praise this matter.

This has confused many fans of celebrities.

After all, many young people don't pay much attention to things like photoresist.

Now their idol suddenly forwarded content related to photoresist, causing them to quickly go to Du Niang to find out what photoresist is and what it is used for.

Then after this investigation, we naturally learned the importance of the photoresist produced by Nanshan Chemical.

In the future, overseas material giants will have another tool missing if they want to strangle China's neck.

This is definitely a good thing.

However, this is a great thing for Nanshan Chemical and Nanshan Semiconductor.

For JSR, it's like the sky has fallen.

"President, Nanshan Chemical announced today that it has mastered EUV photoresist technology. In this way, they have formed g-line photoresist, i-line photoresist, KrF photoresist, ArF photoresist, and EUV photoresist. A full range of photoresist products including etching.”

"This is an absolutely catastrophic outcome for our company."

Saitomon came to Kawahashi's office with a worried look on his face.

Although JSR has a relatively rich product line, photoresist is only one of their many products.

But photoresist is JSR's main source of profit. Nowadays, the profits of this area are facing a huge threat, and they are naturally very worried.

"It's not surprising that they can produce EUV photoresist in the laboratory."

“But this doesn’t mean they can produce photoresist with stable quality on a large scale, right?”

Kawahashi convinced himself to put forward his own opinions based on his understanding of Huaxia Materials Enterprises.

But this time Saitomen did not agree with his point of view.

"President, if it is an ordinary Chinese company, then it is probably possible to develop new materials in the laboratory, but there is no way to mass produce them on a large scale."

"But Nanshan Chemical is different. Behind it is Nanshan Equipment, the largest equipment manufacturer in China."

"So for many companies, more difficult equipment and process issues are not big problems in front of Nanshan Chemical."

"As far as I know, all the equipment used in Nanshan Huaxia's photoresist production line is purchased from Nanshan Equipment or from other equipment manufacturers in Huaxia through Nanshan Equipment."

When Saitomon said this, Kawahashi's convinced face couldn't help but change.

If Nanshan Chemical really has the ability to mass-produce EUV photoresist and other products, it will really be a big problem for JSR.

It may be very difficult to make money casually in the Chinese market in the future.

"You fly to China immediately and visit all major customers with our agents."

"Tell them that our various photoresist products will reduce prices by 20% across the board starting next month."

"But I hope they can sign a long-term supply agreement with us, which will make it easier for us to arrange production capacity."

Kawahashi was convinced and did not hesitate. Once he realized the threat that Nanshan Chemical posed to him, he immediately asked Saito to start adjusting the product prices.

In his view, Nanshan Chemical's photoresist has just been developed and has no advantage in terms of amortization of R\u0026D costs, new equipment, or product defect rates.

Therefore, as long as the price of JSR's photoresist can be reduced, most customers will still consider continuing to cooperate with them.

"Is it just a 20% price reduction?"

"According to the production levels of Chinese enterprises in the past, once a material or equipment is converted from imported to domestically produced, the price can generally be reduced by about half, or even more."

Saito Gate is relatively clear about the production costs of its own photoresist products.

After reducing the price by 20%, the profit margin is still very good.

So he actually wanted to reduce the price even more, directly offering a 30% or 40% discount, so that he could better cope with the impact of Nanshan Chemical.

However, Kawahashi believed it was a bit reluctant to part with the profits.

So I want to give it a try first.

"The price reduction must be done step by step. If we directly sell it at a 50% discount, then if Nanshan Chemical's price is still cheaper than mine, how should we take over?"

"Besides, if chip manufacturers want to replace the photoresist, it is not something that can be done overnight."

"They need to conduct various experiments to ensure that there is really no problem with the other party's photoresist before they consider switching."

"This cycle, I think, will take several months anyway."

"So we can also wait and see for a while before considering whether to further reduce prices."

Kawahashi was so convinced that even if the Saito clan had different opinions, they could only suppress them first.

But then he immediately followed Kawahashi's convincing instructions and started contacting Huaxia's customers.

"Mr. Yang, I just heard from someone on the purchasing side that the price of the photoresist we buy from JSR can be reduced by 20% starting from next month."

"But it requires us to enter into a long-term purchase agreement for at least the next three years."

"Otherwise, there is no way to enjoy this preferential price."

Yang Bingning has always paid close attention to various developments in China's chip industry.

Nanshan Chemical has solved the photoresist issue, making the photoresist blockade of Nanshan Semiconductor by the United States and Japan meaningless.

Naturally, he noticed such important news in this industry immediately.

Previously, at Nanshan Semiconductor, Zhang Jing personally called him to discuss borrowing part of the photoresist, but in the end he was rejected by SMIC.

Therefore, Yang Bingning reacted even more to the fact that Nanshan Chemical produced all the photoresists used in chip processing.

"Has the procurement side figured out the specific situation of the photoresist at Nanshan Chemical?"

Wang Anguo has no way to make a decision right now.

After all, if they sign a purchase agreement for at least three years, if the market price of photoresist drops significantly by then, they will suffer a big loss.

But if you don't sign, you will have to buy at the current price or even a higher price. This is definitely not a situation Wang Anguo wants to see.

So at this time, it becomes very important to understand the situation.

"Because our relationship with Nanshan Semiconductor is relatively sensitive, the purchasing department currently does not dare to contact us directly. We want to hear the company's opinions before speaking."

When Yang Bingning said this, Wang Anguo immediately became unhappy.

The people in the purchasing department are doing nothing.

"Let's first see if we can get Nanshan Chemical to provide relevant photoresist performance data and quotations. Otherwise, how would we know whether to use it?"

The situation is over!

The United States and Japan have used so many methods but failed to block the development of Nanshan Semiconductor. Wang Anguo feels that it will be more difficult to block it in the future.

In this case, whether SMIC still needs to maintain its distance from Nanshan Equipment and Nanshan Semiconductor needs to be carefully weighed.

By then, other semiconductor manufacturers will be using products from Nanshan Equipment and Nanshan Chemical, but not SMIC.

Then there is no advantage in terms of production cost, equipment investment cycle, maintenance cycle, maintenance cost, etc.

This is certainly not the situation Wang Anguo wants to see.

"Then I'll go and find out first, and then I'll see how to answer JSR's conditions."

After Yang Bingning finished speaking, he immediately started arranging work for the purchasing department.

Following JSR's actions, Shin-Etsu Chemical, Sumitomo Chemical, Fujifilm, Tokyo Onka, and DuPont also made similar actions.

On the one hand, they communicate with international customers to ensure that they will not replace them easily.

On the other hand, they communicate with agents in China to lower the shipping price of their photoresists.

And this time, most manufacturers followed JSR's lead and lowered their prices by about 20%.

Such coordinated behavior, if they had not done any communication before, Cao Yang would definitely not believe it.

However, although such traditional photoresist manufacturers have lowered the price of photoresist, Nanshan Chemical has gone even further.

Lai Yuanhong directly announced the product parameters, minimum order quantity, and starting price of Nanshan Chemical's various photoresists.

These price lists are proactively sent to corresponding customers and potential customers through sales staff.

Manufacturers such as JSR, Shin-Etsu Chemical, Sumitomo Chemical, Fujifilm, Tokyo Onka, and DuPont or their agents naturally paid attention to this price change immediately.

"President, Nanshan Chemical has indeed taken action. Their current official price is 50% off our previous price."

"This is still the officially announced price. In fact, after negotiating with them, if the purchase quantity is relatively large, the price can be reduced by a certain percentage on this basis."

"Are we going to follow or not?"

Saitomen is very confused now.

If the price of their photoresist in China drops by 50%, although they won't lose money, the profits really won't be that high.

After all, part of their profits must be given to agents.

But if he doesn't follow suit, he feels that JSR's market share in China will plummet within half a year at most.

"Follow, definitely follow!"

"Do we have any other options?"

Kawahashi is convinced that Nanshan Chemical has directly revealed Wang Zha now.

A new product has just been launched, and the costs cannot be very low.

The 50% discount price should basically be the cost price of Nanshan Chemical.

Of course, this is just the cost price he thinks.

"What if Nanshan Chemical continues to cut prices?"

"Then shall we follow or not?"

Saitomon felt that he should tell what he was worried about.

To avoid being more passive later.

"While Nanshan Chemical's photoresists have not yet been used on a large scale by other customers, we must nip them in the bud."

"As long as our products can avoid losing money, or even suffer a small loss, we can continue to reduce prices."

"As long as Nanshan Chemical's photoresist products are killed, we can continue to make money back by raising prices in the future."

Following Kawahashi's convinced instructions, Saitomon immediately took action.

As a result, a bloody storm immediately started in the photoresist market.

Nanshan Chemical will definitely not compromise at this time.

Let's start a price war.

This is something they are not afraid of at all.

Whether it is Lai Yuanhong or Cao Yang, they simply do not believe that JSR and other companies can achieve lower production costs than Nanshan Chemical.

So after struggling for a period of time, you will definitely not be able to persist.

By then, whether JSR, Shin-Etsu Chemical, or other photoresist giants will be defeated.

Even JSR's price cuts will hit these peers first.

It can be said that Nanshan Chemical’s Spring Festival gift directly hit a large number of photoresist manufacturers.