The events stated in the article are well-founded, which is really incredible after reading them, but if you analyze and guess in depth, there is actually a huge loophole in the article, that is, the final conclusion drawn on the incident is completely wrong.

Not long ago, an article titled "A MSG factory stuck the neck of chip companies around the world" flooded the screen.

article points out that today's large-scale chip shortage is closely related to a Japanese MSG company called "Aminoshi" because it masters an important material in the chip production process. To this day, almost 100% of global chip manufacturing is inseparable from this material. As soon as the news came out, everyone was in an uproar and sighed that this could be called a realistic version of the "butterfly effect".

Figure | Semiconductor chip (Source: Pixabay)

The incident stated in the article is well-founded, and it is really incredible after reading it. However, if you analyze and guess it in depth, there is actually a huge loophole in the article, that is, the final conclusion drawn on the event is completely wrong.

Regarding this incident, Fu Xuwen, CEO of Yinxin Technology, told DeepTech, "Chip manufacturing is a very mature global division of labor industry chain, and each country has a unique side. As for the global chip shortage, Japan's ABF is only one factor, but not the decisive factor."

Since ABF is not the main factor, what is the reason for the large-scale global chip shortage today? In this regard, Li Xiudong, vice president of Qingwei Intelligent Product Engineering, summarized the following 5 aspects: the real demand of the

• market. With the development of 5G technology, there are more PA chips in 5G mobile phones than 4G mobile phones; there is a wide demand for automotive chips brought about by autonomous driving; online office needs to be done due to the epidemic, which has a strong demand for server chips and PC chips.
• supply chain is too long, and some environments lack production expansion.
• domestic substitution. As domestic substitution accelerates, many chips are mass-produced in advance, and system solution manufacturers have also given opportunities to test or trial, which objectively creates supply chain tension.
• panic reservation orders. When companies feel that resources are tight, they will prepare more stocks in advance, although their own demand has not increased significantly, which is more of a psychological factor. The impact of friction between
• , China and the United States, , semiconductor .

Next, this article will view and analyze the entire incident from the height of the industrial chain, strive to return to rationality, and restore the truth of an objective and fair incident for everyone. What is

ABF, and why can't the chip industry leave it?

ABF (Ajinomoto Build-up Film) is a by-product of Ajinomoto when producing MSG, also known as "Ajinomoto stacking film". It is a film made of synthetic resin materials and has good insulation.

Picture | ABF of ABF (Source: ABF of ABF)

Lecture ABF Before, let’s talk about an important part of the chip processing process.

chip has billions of transistors connected through circuits, and the circuits also need to be insulated to ensure that the transistor circuits on each layer do not interfere with each other. The insulating material used in traditional processes is liquid, so it needs to be sprayed and dried. In addition, the uniformity of the spray must be considered, so the next process must be carried out after thorough drying. This kind of spraying and drying operation is very complicated, and this reciprocating cycle consumes a lot of time, manpower and material resources.

With the continuous advancement of chip process technology, the chip industry urgently needs a new material with excellent insulation, heat resistance and ease of use. Fu Xuwen pointed out: "In chip-made IC circuits, especially relatively high-end chips, the smaller the circuit line width, the smaller the original gap of the insulating material, and it needs to be able to be filled in, which requires higher requirements for insulating material."

In this regard, Song Changgeng, market research director of Xinmou Research, also expressed a similar view. He said: "The semiconductor integrated circuit industry uses a wide variety of electronic materials, photoresist , etc., electronic materials including dozens of subcategories. Although the global consumption of each subcategory is not large, the requirements for materials are particularly high, such as the purity of electronic special gas must be above 5N~6N."

At that time, Aizhisu Company found that a by-product of MSG production had very good insulation. They believed that this might be used as an insulating coating agent for the semiconductor industry, so they developed a thin film-like insulating material - ABF.

ABF is used as an insulating filler inside the chip. Compared with traditional liquid insulating materials, ABF is more convenient to use in the form of a film, and can complete the operation by covering and pressing, which can greatly improve production efficiency. "ABF is a insulating material filled between the chip circuit layers, with a thin line width and extremely high accuracy. Advanced semiconductor processes require this extremely high precision insulating material. "Fu Xuwen said.

Picture | ABF of ABF is used in chips (Source: ABF official website documentary)

Since using ABF, chip preparation can significantly improve production efficiency while reducing production costs, and ensure quality and performance.

Subsequently, many chip companies around the world have extended olive branches to ABF and purchased ABF in large quantities. So ABF began to appear in various semiconductor chip manufacturing links and gradually been used by the entire semiconductor industry.

Fu Xuwen said: "The ABF materials made by ABF well meet the extremely demanding requirements of chip manufacturing. It can be said that ABF has almost no competitors in this field. "Why are there no other companies competing with ABF?

Ten years ago, smartphones sprung up like mushrooms after a rain. As demand for high-end chips rose year by year, ABF began to become in short supply. According to industry chain people, since the end of last year, there was a problem with the ABF supply chain. The delivery cycle of ABF has been as long as 30 weeks, and ABF will continue to be inadequate throughout the year.

As the saying goes, "It is hard to cook without rice." Problems in ABF's supply will inevitably affect the manufacturing of chips.

Since ABF's production capacity cannot keep up, why don't other companies produce similar materials to compete with it? The main reason can be attributed to the following two points:

One, cost. ABF The profit is low enough to make the volume and profits thin. It is difficult for other companies to make profits when they are involved, so no companies are willing to compete.

At that time, some companies did see this blue ocean and invested money to develop this insulating material to compete with AiZhiShi, but eventually gave up due to factors such as R&D costs or patent fees. This also gave AiZhiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiS The materials have decades of technical precipitation (including secret formulas). Although other companies can produce technical research and development, their quality may not necessarily reach the level of ABF, and their performance may not necessarily meet the demanding demands of chips for materials.

Figure | ABF is a unique insulating material (Source: Aizhisu official website documentary)

"For other companies, it should not be difficult for other companies to make this material, but the difficulty is to achieve the same high standards as ABF, to achieve such a good insulation effect, and can still be used under extremely small line widths, which is very difficult. "Fu Xuwen pointed out.

takes high concentration of sulfuric acid as an example. For example, A and B produce 99% sulfuric acid and 99.9% sulfuric acid respectively. The difference between the two may not be noticed in general use cases, and it is particularly critical in the chip field. The 0.9% higher than that of company B may directly affect chip processing and manufacturing, and this is also the advantage of company B's technological leadership.

"ABF's market share reaches 70-80% or even more.

Not long ago, an article titled "A MSG factory stuck the neck of chip companies around the world" flooded the screen.

article points out that today's large-scale chip shortage is closely related to a Japanese MSG company called "Aminoshi" because it masters an important material in the chip production process. To this day, almost 100% of global chip manufacturing is inseparable from this material. As soon as the news came out, everyone was in an uproar and sighed that this could be called a realistic version of the "butterfly effect".

Figure | Semiconductor chip (Source: Pixabay)

The incident stated in the article is well-founded, and it is really incredible after reading it. However, if you analyze and guess it in depth, there is actually a huge loophole in the article, that is, the final conclusion drawn on the event is completely wrong.

Regarding this incident, Fu Xuwen, CEO of Yinxin Technology, told DeepTech, "Chip manufacturing is a very mature global division of labor industry chain, and each country has a unique side. As for the global chip shortage, Japan's ABF is only one factor, but not the decisive factor."

Since ABF is not the main factor, what is the reason for the large-scale global chip shortage today? In this regard, Li Xiudong, vice president of Qingwei Intelligent Product Engineering, summarized the following 5 aspects: the real demand of the

• market. With the development of 5G technology, there are more PA chips in 5G mobile phones than 4G mobile phones; there is a wide demand for automotive chips brought about by autonomous driving; online office needs to be done due to the epidemic, which has a strong demand for server chips and PC chips.
• supply chain is too long, and some environments lack production expansion.
• domestic substitution. As domestic substitution accelerates, many chips are mass-produced in advance, and system solution manufacturers have also given opportunities to test or trial, which objectively creates supply chain tension.
• panic reservation orders. When companies feel that resources are tight, they will prepare more stocks in advance, although their own demand has not increased significantly, which is more of a psychological factor. The impact of friction between
• , China and the United States, , semiconductor .

Next, this article will view and analyze the entire incident from the height of the industrial chain, strive to return to rationality, and restore the truth of an objective and fair incident for everyone. What is

ABF, and why can't the chip industry leave it?

ABF (Ajinomoto Build-up Film) is a by-product of Ajinomoto when producing MSG, also known as "Ajinomoto stacking film". It is a film made of synthetic resin materials and has good insulation.

Picture | ABF of ABF (Source: ABF of ABF)

Lecture ABF Before, let’s talk about an important part of the chip processing process.

chip has billions of transistors connected through circuits, and the circuits also need to be insulated to ensure that the transistor circuits on each layer do not interfere with each other. The insulating material used in traditional processes is liquid, so it needs to be sprayed and dried. In addition, the uniformity of the spray must be considered, so the next process must be carried out after thorough drying. This kind of spraying and drying operation is very complicated, and this reciprocating cycle consumes a lot of time, manpower and material resources.

With the continuous advancement of chip process technology, the chip industry urgently needs a new material with excellent insulation, heat resistance and ease of use. Fu Xuwen pointed out: "In chip-made IC circuits, especially relatively high-end chips, the smaller the circuit line width, the smaller the original gap of the insulating material, and it needs to be able to be filled in, which requires higher requirements for insulating material."

In this regard, Song Changgeng, market research director of Xinmou Research, also expressed a similar view. He said: "The semiconductor integrated circuit industry uses a wide variety of electronic materials, photoresist , etc., electronic materials including dozens of subcategories. Although the global consumption of each subcategory is not large, the requirements for materials are particularly high, such as the purity of electronic special gas must be above 5N~6N."

At that time, Aizhisu Company found that a by-product of MSG production had very good insulation. They believed that this might be used as an insulating coating agent for the semiconductor industry, so they developed a thin film-like insulating material - ABF.

ABF is used as an insulating filler inside the chip. Compared with traditional liquid insulating materials, ABF is more convenient to use in the form of a film, and can complete the operation by covering and pressing, which can greatly improve production efficiency. "ABF is a insulating material filled between the chip circuit layers, with a thin line width and extremely high accuracy. Advanced semiconductor processes require this extremely high precision insulating material. "Fu Xuwen said.

Picture | ABF of ABF is used in chips (Source: ABF official website documentary)

Since using ABF, chip preparation can significantly improve production efficiency while reducing production costs, and ensure quality and performance.

Subsequently, many chip companies around the world have extended olive branches to ABF and purchased ABF in large quantities. So ABF began to appear in various semiconductor chip manufacturing links and gradually been used by the entire semiconductor industry.

Fu Xuwen said: "The ABF materials made by ABF well meet the extremely demanding requirements of chip manufacturing. It can be said that ABF has almost no competitors in this field. "Why are there no other companies competing with ABF?

Ten years ago, smartphones sprung up like mushrooms after a rain. As demand for high-end chips rose year by year, ABF began to become in short supply. According to industry chain people, since the end of last year, there was a problem with the ABF supply chain. The delivery cycle of ABF has been as long as 30 weeks, and ABF will continue to be inadequate throughout the year.

As the saying goes, "It is hard to cook without rice." Problems in ABF's supply will inevitably affect the manufacturing of chips.

Since ABF's production capacity cannot keep up, why don't other companies produce similar materials to compete with it? The main reason can be attributed to the following two points:

One, cost. ABF The profit is low enough to make the volume and profits thin. It is difficult for other companies to make profits when they are involved, so no companies are willing to compete.

At that time, some companies did see this blue ocean and invested money to develop this insulating material to compete with AiZhiShi, but eventually gave up due to factors such as R&D costs or patent fees. This also gave AiZhiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiShiS The materials have decades of technical precipitation (including secret formulas). Although other companies can produce technical research and development, their quality may not necessarily reach the level of ABF, and their performance may not necessarily meet the demanding demands of chips for materials.

Figure | ABF is a unique insulating material (Source: Aizhisu official website documentary)

"For other companies, it should not be difficult for other companies to make this material, but the difficulty is to achieve the same high standards as ABF, to achieve such a good insulation effect, and can still be used under extremely small line widths, which is very difficult. "Fu Xuwen pointed out.

takes high concentration of sulfuric acid as an example. For example, A and B produce 99% sulfuric acid and 99.9% sulfuric acid respectively. The difference between the two may not be noticed in general use cases, and it is particularly critical in the chip field. The 0.9% higher than that of company B may directly affect chip processing and manufacturing, and this is also the advantage of company B's technological leadership.

"ABF's market share reaches 70-80% or even more.In fact, many chip raw materials are in the hands of Japanese companies, not only ABF, but also many Japanese basic materials, such as high concentrations of hydrofluoric acid, sulfuric acid, or photoresist, etc., which play an important role. Of course, other companies can do what they can do, but there are still slight differences in the products they make. "Fu Xuwen said.

chip is ultimately a commodity. Since it is a commodity, companies will try their best to reduce costs and increase profits while ensuring quality and performance. And ABF material almost perfectly fits these two points - good enough technology and low enough cost, which is the fundamental reason why ABF is "irreplaceable".

ABF supply continues to be short of shortage. What will happen next?

In the future, will any companies develop new materials to replace ABF? Fu Xuwen said that it is unlikely in the short term, and replacement of chip raw materials is not easy. "If the semiconductor industry chain is to use a brand new material, it is difficult, and chip companies dare not try rashly, because it requires long-term repeated verification and observation, such as stability, reliability and other factors. The key is that the time period for verifying new materials is relatively long. "He said.

In this regard, Song Changgeng also said, "Because the materials used are closely related to wafer manufacturing processes, chip product yields, etc., the replacement is very difficult, the process is complicated, and it takes a long time, but the final benefits are not great. "

ABF has a long history in the semiconductor field, and the cost of verifying new insulating materials is too long, so ABF is still the first choice material for chip companies in the short term.

Figure | Semiconductor chips (Source: Pixabay)

If ABF is out of stock, how can the chip shortage problem be broken? In this regard, Fu Xuwen said: "I think that the next company will expand production on a large scale, but it will not expand production to meet market demand, because Japanese businessmen are usually conservative and usually do not actively expand production. They usually wait until there is a large demand before they can expand production. After the expansion, they generally have to wait 3 years before they can achieve results. This cycle is very long. "

This means that even after the expansion of production, the production capacity will not alleviate the current situation of large-scale chip shortages for a while, and the phenomenon of chip shortages will continue in the future.

Faced with the problem of chip shortages, Li Xiudong pointed out: "For China, it is necessary to further improve the chip supply chain layout internally and focus on solving key core issues; it is necessary to seek global resource cooperation externally. "

Regarding how to break the deadlock in the future, Song Changgeng expressed his views. He believed that "there are many types, high requirements, and low usage. These factors cause not many new companies to enter the electronic materials field. Only China. For the sake of industrial chain security, many new companies have entered these fields. Therefore, I think the breakthrough in the electronic material supply pattern will also happen in China. "

ABF Although it is a cutting-edge technology, it does not form a technical barrier

Chip manufacturing is a huge systematic industry. If any material can be successfully put into production, it will require long-term cost investment, technical research and development and circular verification in the early stage. ABF material of ABF is no exception.

Because it started early, ABF has a deep technical precipitation. Whether from a technical or commercial perspective, ABF is the best choice for global chip companies at present, but, a crucial point - ABF has not yet formed a technical barrier.

For other competing companies, "can it be made" and "whether you want to make it" are two different things. Obviously, ABF belongs to the latter.

Figure | ABF ABF Material screenshot (Source: Aizhisu official website documentary)

For example, the processing and manufacturing of ballpoint pen head mount bodies is extremely strict for raw materials, requiring extremely high wear resistance and easy cutting and processing, etc. It has long been in the hands of Switzerland, Japan and other countries.

However, this "cutting technology" has not made ballpoint pens a scarce item, and the price of ballpoint pens is not high, but is very "friendly". Why is this?

First, the production capacity of a few companies has basically met the global market demand.

Second, the R&D investment is too large and the final profit is very small, and the company is unwilling to get involved.

It is undeniable that ABF is indeed a crucial insulating material in chip manufacturing, but it is basically similar to the "situation" of the ballpoint pen head mount body. It is a cutting-edge technology, but it has not yet reached the level of "technical barrier". Only technical barriers can "bottlenecks". In addition, conventional products and ordinary technologies cannot be stuck. In the end, it will only affect it for a while.

So what is a technical barrier? For China, such as aero engines, lithography machines, high-end chips, operating systems, medical imaging equipment components, core industrial software, ultra-precision polishing processes, etc., can only be called technical barriers and are core technologies that require concentrated scientific and technological strength to solve problems.

Picture | Aero Engine (Source: Pixabay)

Since ABF is not a technical barrier, it is naturally not "bottleneck". Therefore, the whole incident is a "make a big deal", infinitely amplifying an important raw material in chip manufacturing, and finally came to the ridiculous conclusion that "a MSG factory stuck the neck of chip companies around the world."

Finally summarized in one sentence: ABF cannot hold the neck of the global chip manufacturing industry.

Second, the R&D investment is too large and the final profit is very small, and the company is unwilling to get involved.

It is undeniable that ABF is indeed a crucial insulating material in chip manufacturing, but it is basically similar to the "situation" of the ballpoint pen head mount body. It is a cutting-edge technology, but it has not yet reached the level of "technical barrier". Only technical barriers can "bottlenecks". In addition, conventional products and ordinary technologies cannot be stuck. In the end, it will only affect it for a while.

So what is a technical barrier? For China, such as aero engines, lithography machines, high-end chips, operating systems, medical imaging equipment components, core industrial software, ultra-precision polishing processes, etc., can only be called technical barriers and are core technologies that require concentrated scientific and technological strength to solve problems.

Picture | Aero Engine (Source: Pixabay)

Since ABF is not a technical barrier, it is naturally not "bottleneck". Therefore, the whole incident is a "make a big deal", infinitely amplifying an important raw material in chip manufacturing, and finally came to the ridiculous conclusion that "a MSG factory stuck the neck of chip companies around the world."

Finally summarized in one sentence: ABF cannot hold the neck of the global chip manufacturing industry.