An AI-generated image of a chip Photo: VCG

Chinese company Binzhou Group has achieved the commercial-scale production of 6N-grade high-purity hydrogen fluoride – commonly known as “chip’s chemical etching knife”, which is needed in advanced semiconductor manufacturing.

This breakthrough has ended the long-standing monopoly held by foreign firms and represents a significant step forward in securing China’s semiconductor key material supply, according to a post seen on the Wechat account of Binzhou, East China’s Shandong Province, where the company is located.

6N-grade high-purity hydrogen fluoride, with a purity of 99.9999 percent, is an indispensable core raw material in semiconductor chip etching and cleaning processes, and a critical material required for advanced semiconductor processes of 28nm and below.

The product has long been a classic example of a critical “bottleneck” material for China in chip-making. For a long time, most China-made products remained at the 5N level, with a purity of 99.999 percent, and the 6N-grade core technology has been monopolized by overseas companies.

Industry insiders explained that even minor differences in impurities can directly constrain the yield improvement of semiconductors.

“Don’t underestimate this extra ‘9’ — in chip manufacturing, even if the metal impurity content is just a few ppb (parts per billion) higher, it can cause a significant drop in chip yield,” Liu Teng, general manager of the special chemicals division of Binzhou Group, was quoted as saying.

The homegrown product’s key indicators have attained international leading standards, with critical metal-ion impurity content controlled below 1 ppb.

Industry insiders pointed out that the recent production launch means that the company will be able to provide a stable supply of domestically produced materials for China’s advanced semiconductor process lines of 28nm and below, strengthening the security China’s semiconductor industry chain.

Binzhou Group has completed the construction of a 50-ton/year high-purity hydrogen fluoride cylinder filling line. The company has received the cylinder filling license from the Shandong authorities on July 17. This grants Binzhou complete qualifications for production, filling, and sales, marking the successful closure of the full industrial chain — from laboratory research and development (R&D) to large-scale commercialization.

The company noted that the recent technological breakthrough is “by no means a single-point achievement,” but rather the result of systematic innovation across the entire process covering processing technology, engineering, testing, and filling. In addition to a strict control on metal-ion impurity levels, the company also solved the problem of secondary contamination throughout the entire production, storage, and transportation chain.


Global Times