Chemically amplified photoresists have become the mainstream of the market, and the market demand for photoacid generators (PAGs) continues to rise.

With the continuous advancement of modern photolithography technology, after KrF, ArF and other photoresists have been widely used, UV photoresists based on chemical amplification technology have become the mainstream of semiconductor photoresists, and market demand continues to rise. Photoacid generator (PAG) is the main component of chemical amplification glue. During the exposure process, PAG can release a catalytic amount of acid and increase the solubility difference between the exposed area and the unexposed area. The acid-generating efficiency, acid-generating intensity, thermal stability and transparency after photolysis of PAG have a great influence on the performance of photoresist.

According to the “Global and China Photoacid Generator (PAG) Industry In-Depth Research Report 2021” released by the Industrial Research Center, According to the different chemical structures of raw materials, photoresists can be divided into photopolymerization, photodecomposition, photocrosslinking, and chemical amplification. Among them, chemical amplification is the most advanced type at present, and the main products are KrF and ArF. The effect of chemically amplified photoresist mainly comes from PAG. Therefore, with the development of the photoresist industry, the demand for PAG applications continues to rise, and the industry development prospects are good.

According to different chemical structures, PAG can be divided into onium salts, diformimide N-sulfonyls, benzoin sulfonyl acids, nitrobenzene sulfonic acids, sulfones, oxime esters, triazines, etc. The performance of PAG will directly affect the photoresist product. Therefore, when selecting PAG, you need to consider the product’s heat resistance, acid efficiency, transparency, solubility and other properties.

Benefiting from the transfer of the wafer industry to China and the intelligent development of domestic equipment, my country’s photoresist market demand is relatively high. In 2021, the size of my country’s semiconductor photoresist market will be approximately 3.3 billion yuan. According to the current domestic semiconductor development trend, the domestic semiconductor photoresist market size is expected to reach 9.8 billion yuan by 2025. KrF and ArF have a relatively high share of the photoresist market, with their total share reaching more than 70%. The market demand for KrF and ArF photoresists continues to rise, driving the development of the PAG industry.

From the perspective of industry development, taking into account the impact of environmental protection policies, PAG will gradually develop in a green direction in the future, and fluorine-free PAG will develop rapidly. The use of fluorine-free PAG can alleviate the environmental and health problems caused by the use of PFOS and PFAS in the electronics industry.

Industrial analysts said that PAG is the main component of chemical amplification glue and an important factor in generating chemical amplification photoresist. With the continuous development of my country’s semiconductor industry and photolithography technology, photoresist products are gradually developing towards high-end, and chemical amplification products have become mainstream. KrF and ArF occupy about 70% of the market, which is good for the development of the PAG industry. There are many types of PAG products, but due to the high technical threshold of the industry, the market is occupied by Japanese and American companies. Representative companies include Toyo Chemicals, Koh Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd., and FJIFILM, of which Toyo Chemicals is the largest supplier. At present, large-scale production of photoacid generators has not been achieved in China, and the market development potential is huge in the future.