It is expected that the global metrology/inspection equipment market will start to recover in the first half of 2024; however, the recovery growth of the Chinese mainland market will lag by six months to one year.

The growth lag is mainly due to: 1) As of the first quarter, the order growth of wafer foundries in Chinese mainland is not significant, and there are no obvious signs of capital expenditure increases; 2) It will still take Chinese mainland manufacturers six months to one year to master advanced packaging technologies. Mastering advanced packaging technologies can drive the growth in demand for mid-range chip foundry services, thereby boosting the procurement demand for semiconductor equipment including metrology/inspection equipment.

Chinese wafer inspection equipment manufacturers have basically achieved initial coverage of 28nm and above process products

Products of Chinese wafer inspection equipment manufacturers already cover inspection equipment such as patterned/non-patterned defect inspection, electron beam defect inspection/review, etc., and have basically achieved initial coverage of 28nm and above processes. Leading domestic manufacturers are conducting R&D or verification of products for more advanced process nodes. The differences between domestic wafer inspection equipment manufacturers and overseas manufacturers are as follows:

Product coverage is less than that of overseas manufacturers.

KLA almost covers all front-end inspection products with a coverage rate of over 90%. Applied Materials (AMAT) and Onto Innovation also have a coverage rate of over 60% in front-end inspection products, while most domestic manufacturers have a coverage rate of only 20%-30% in front-end inspection products.

The product process nodes are far behind those of leading overseas manufacturers.

At present, domestic wafer inspection equipment manufacturers can only mass-produce products for 28nm and above processes, while products for processes below 28nm are still in the R&D and verification stage. Leading overseas manufacturers' products generally cover processes below 2Xnm, and KLA's non-patterned wafer defect inspection product, Surfscan SP7XP, has been applied in 5nm and below processes.

The global semiconductor metrology/inspection market shows a highly monopolistic pattern, with KLA accounting for over 50% of the market share

The global semiconductor metrology/inspection equipment market is highly concentrated, with the CR5 exceeding 80%. In the Chinese market, the localization rate of semiconductor metrology/inspection equipment has increased from about 2% in 2020 to about 5% in 2023. In product segments: the localization rate of high-precision overlay measurement equipment is close to 0%; that of X-ray metrology/inspection equipment is less than 1%; that of film thickness measurement equipment has reached 15%; that of optical review equipment has reached 10%; and that of AOI inspection equipment can reach 15%. Domestic wafer inspection equipment manufacturers include China Micro-Foundry, Shanghai Jingce Electronics, Shanghai Rilecs, Saiten Co., Ltd., Chengfeng Technology, Silvaco Semiconductor, Oriental Wafer, Shanghai Yuwei, Nanjing Zhongan, etc.

Industry Overview

Industry Definition

Semiconductor process control (metrology/inspection) equipment is key to ensuring chip production yield

Semiconductor process control (metrology/inspection) equipment is one of the core equipment in the integrated circuit production process, running through the entire integrated circuit production process, and is key to ensuring chip yield.

Semiconductor equipment can be divided into two major categories: front-end equipment (wafer manufacturing) and back-end equipment (packaging and testing). Front-end equipment is involved in processes such as silicon wafer processing, lithography, etching, ion implantation, thin film deposition, cleaning, polishing, and metallization. The corresponding core dedicated equipment includes silicon wafer processing equipment, lithography equipment, etching equipment, cleaning equipment, ion implantation equipment, thin film deposition equipment, mechanical polishing equipment, and metrology/inspection equipment. Back-end equipment includes packaging equipment and testing equipment, and at the same time, some front-end equipment is also used in advanced back-end packaging processes. Semiconductor process control (metrology/inspection) equipment is one of the core equipment in the integrated circuit production process, running through the entire process of integrated circuit production, and is crucial to ensuring the yield of chip production.

Industry Classification

Semiconductor inspection can be divided into front-end metrology/inspection, back-end inspection, and laboratory inspection by process step. Semiconductor inspection can be divided into inspection and metrology by process; into front-end metrology/inspection, back-end inspection, and laboratory inspection by process step; and into optical inspection technology, electron beam inspection technology, and X-ray metrology technology by technical principle.

From a process perspective, metrology/inspection equipment can be divided into two major links: Inspection and Metrology.

Inspection refers to detecting whether there are heterogeneous conditions on the wafer surface or in the circuit structure, such as characteristic structural defects that adversely affect chip process performance, such as particle contamination, surface scratches, open circuits, short circuits, etc.

Metrology refers to the quantitative description of the structural dimensions and material properties of the observed wafer circuits, such as the measurement of physical parameters like film thickness, critical dimensions, etching depth, and surface topography.

From a process step perspective, semiconductor inspection can be divided into front-end inspection, back-end inspection, and laboratory inspection. Among them, front-end metrology/inspection is mainly applied in the wafer processing stage, and currently, it is mainly dominated by in-plant production line online monitoring. Back-end inspection is mainly applied to the electrical and functional testing of chips after wafer processing, and currently, it is mainly dominated by in-plant production line online monitoring and third-party testing. Laboratory inspection mainly focuses on defect localization and failure analysis of effective samples, mainly carried out by third-party laboratories and in-house built laboratories. From a technical principle perspective, metrology/inspection mainly includes optical inspection technology, electron beam inspection technology, and X-ray metrology technology. Among them, optical inspection, with its fast speed and non-contact nature, is the main inspection technology currently.

Technical Routes

Metrology/inspection technologies mainly include optical inspection technology, electron beam inspection technology, and X-ray metrology technology. From the perspective of technical routes, metrology/inspection technologies mainly include these three types, with differences mainly reflected in inspection accuracy, inspection speed, and application scenarios. Optical inspection technology has relatively high inspection accuracy and speed, and its market space accounts for the largest proportion, reaching 81.4%.

From the perspective of technical routes, metrology/inspection technologies mainly include optical inspection technology, electron beam inspection technology, and X-ray metrology technology. Among them, optical inspection technology is currently the main inspection technology in wafer manufacturing scenarios, accounting for 81.4% of the market share in 2023.

The differences between optical inspection technology, electron beam inspection technology, and X-ray metrology technology are mainly reflected in inspection accuracy, inspection speed, and application scenarios. The inspection speed of optical technology is faster than that of electron beam inspection technology; under the same conditions, it can be more than 1,000 times faster than electron beam inspection technology. However, since the wavelength of electron beams is much shorter than that of light, and the shorter the wavelength, the higher the accuracy, electron beam inspection technology thus has higher accuracy than optical inspection under the same conditions. Compared with X-ray metrology technology, optical inspection technology has a wider range of applications, while X-ray metrology technology is mainly used in specific fields such as the measurement of specific metal components and ultra-thin films.

Source: Shenzhen Culture Network