The challenge and coping strategy of rising chip manufacturing cost

Contemporary chip manufacturing processes are facing increasingly complex problems, resulting in rising manufacturing costs. One of the main influencing factors is the increase in production complexity. Let's look at some concrete examples to understand.

With the evolution of the process, the new generation of chip manufacturing process involves more processes. From the traditional 28 nm process to today's 7 nm process, more steps have been introduced into the process flow, such as multiple lithography and nanoscale material deposition, to achieve higher integration and performance. These additional steps increase the complexity of the manufacturing process, lengthen the manufacturing cycle, and increase the corresponding cost.

Secondly, the new generation process has higher requirements for preparation quality. For example, with the continuous reduction of chip size, there are higher requirements for the precision of circuit structures and components. Fine structures and nanoscale material deposition require more precise instrumentation and process control to ensure preparation quality. For example, when chemical vapor deposition is carried out at the nanoscale, highly accurate instruments and processes are required to precisely locate and control the deposition location and rate. Even small errors can cause problems with the functionality, repeatability and life of a structure or device. Therefore, manufacturers need to invest more resources to improve the process flow and improve the efficiency of preparation, which increases the manufacturing cost.

Third, the new generation of processes have higher requirements for materials and equipment. Chip manufacturing requires the use of high-quality materials, such as ultra-pure silicon wafers and special photoresist. The high cost of these materials poses a challenge to supply chain management. For example, materials such as special photoresist may require custom production according to specific process requirements, which may lead to close cooperation and communication issues between suppliers in the supply chain, as well as order and production arrangements in advance.

In addition, material procurement in chip manufacturing can also be affected by price fluctuations and changes in supply and demand. The cost of high-quality materials can fluctuate with changes in market demand and supply, so supply chain managers need to pay close attention to market dynamics and make decisions and adjustments accordingly. In addition, in order to adapt to the new process requirements, manufacturers also need to introduce more advanced and more sophisticated equipment and tools. The research and development, procurement, and operation and maintenance of these devices all increase manufacturing costs.

Although faced with the challenge of rising manufacturing costs, chip manufacturers are constantly striving to find solutions to reduce costs. For example, by adopting process automation and intelligent technologies, labor costs can be reduced and production efficiency improved. Optimizing production processes, deploying flexible production lines and improving supply chain management also help reduce costs. At the same time, cross-industry collaboration and shared experience can further reduce chip manufacturing costs by sharing R&D expenses, sharing production facilities and resources, sharing supply chain resources, and merging innovations and sharing standards. This cooperation can promote the rational use of resources, improve efficiency, reduce duplication of inputs, and create a more affordable production environment for chip manufacturers.