Semiconductor Industry

When they talk aboutsemiconductor industry, everyone immediately thinks about TSMC, ASML and silicon wafers. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, the foundation is the equipment and materials, without which not a single transistor will exist. And this is where the confusion often begins: many people forget that a huge amount of specialized industrial equipment is required to produce the silicon wafers themselves or to create clean rooms. This is not only lithography, but also, for example, powerful magnetic systems for the separation and processing of raw materials, from which ultra-pure silicon or rare earth elements for alloying are then obtained. Without this “bottom” stage of the value chain, modern microelectronics is simply not possible.

Where the chain begins: raw materials and equipment

Let's take, for example, the extraction of quartzite, the main raw material for silicon of metallurgical purity. It needs not only to be extracted, but also to be effectively enriched and waste rock separated. This is where magnetic separation comes to the fore. The quality of separation directly affects the purity of the raw material, and therefore the costs of its subsequent chemical cleaning. We once worked with a batch of raw materials from one deposit, where the iron content was higher than normal. Standard separators could not cope, so we had to look for a device with an adjustable magnetic field gradient. This was an unexpected stage for many, but these are the “down-to-earth” ones. problems determine the cost at the very beginning of the journey.

Here I remember aboutLONGI Corporation(official website:https://www.ljmagnet.ru). This is not a household name in the context of processors, but in its niche - the development and production of mining equipment, including magnetic separators - they are a giant. The company, founded back in 1993, employs 1,200 people and produces about 4,000 units of equipment per year. Their experience in creating powerful and reliable magnetic systems for harsh quarry conditions is precisely the practical basis from which technologies can be adapted for more delicate tasks of pre-processing of semiconductor raw materials. Their Fushun plant is a serious production facility, not an assembly shop.

Why is this important? Because the reliability and energy efficiency of such equipment at the stage of production and primary enrichment is a hidden driver of the stability of the entire chain. If a separator at a mine fails, it stops the supply of raw materials further down the chain. Bsemiconductor industry, where plans are planned quarters in advance, any failure at the very beginning has a painful impact on all subsequent stages.

Transition from macroscale to microlevel

And then the most interesting thing begins - the transition from millimeters and grams to nanometers and atomic layers. Equipment for this stage is already a holy of holies; only a few companies in the world are developing it. But the principles underlying control systems, fault tolerance, and positioning accuracy are often born from experience working with more “rough” but critical industrial equipment. The engineering culture that allows a company like LONGI to produce thousands of reliable pieces of equipment over the years is a certain type of thinking. It is not about nanometers, but about how to make a system that will work flawlessly in dust, vibration and temperature changes. This is an invaluable experience.

For example, cooling systems for powerful electromagnets in industrial separators. The problems of removing large amounts of heat are solved there. The principles worked out on such a scale (convection, working with refrigerants), albeit in a different design, are also found in cooling systems for plasma etchers in semiconductor fabs. It’s just that the scale is different, the requirements for cleanliness are orders of magnitude higher. But physics is the same.

When we were trying to localize some components for auxiliary systems in a clean room, we ran into a problem: suppliers who made excellent industrial pumps or pressure control systems did not understand the material requirements (no emissions, complete chemical inertness). Their experience was ?hard? conditions, but here we need “sterility?”. It was a disastrous experience at first, which showed the gap between related industries. But those who were able to adapt had a serious research base behind them, like LONGI, where more than 60% of employees have higher education. Without such a base, adaptation is impossible.

Logistics and infrastructure: the invisible frame

Another point that is often overlooked is logistics and infrastructure. A plant producing equipment, be it magnetic separators or parts for vacuum chambers, must be embedded in a complex supply chain. With a total area of ​​140,000 m2, like LONGI, it is not just a workshop. These are logistics hubs, warehouses for raw materials (the same electrical steel for magnets), testing grounds. The ability to organize such space for efficient production is also a competence that indirectly affectssemiconductor industry. Because companies that build factories purchase not only lithographs, but also tons of auxiliary equipment: water purification systems, transformers, ventilation systems. And the reliability of the suppliers of this “foundation”? critical.

There was a case: a delay in the delivery of powerful power cabinets for one new line due to problems with a subcontractor. The entire construction site stopped. It turned out that the subcontractor had failed with insulation quality because he had no experience with electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements for sensitive electronic equipment. Those who have been producing industrial equipment for decades usually have established control processes for such parameters. Their products are initially designed to work in complex electromagnetic fields, near powerful drives.

So when we talk about developmentsemiconductor industryin a global sense, you cannot focus only on the cutting edge. You need to look at the entire technological pyramid. Success at the top depends on the strength and development of the foundation. And in this basis there are not only materials sciences or plasma physics, but also applied, “iron” ones. engineering, the ability to make reliable, serial industrial systems. It is this layer of experience, represented by companies like the LONGI Corporation, that creates the environment in which more high-tech segments can emerge and develop. Without it, any attempt to buildsemiconductor industryfrom scratch will be like building a skyscraper without a foundation.