The application demand for ultraviolet photoresist (UV photoresist) is growing and the high-end competitiveness of local enterprises needs to be improved.

            Ultraviolet photoresist, also known as UV photoresist, is an etching-resistant thin film material that uses ultraviolet light as the exposure light source and changes its solubility through irradiation. UV photoresist has the advantages of high resolution, good development latitude, and strong optical sensitivity. It is widely used in the fields of semiconductor discrete devices, display panels, and integrated circuits. According to different chemical reaction mechanisms and development principles, UV photoresists can be divided into two types: UV negative photoresists and UV positive photoresists.

The upstream of the UV photoresist industry chain supplies raw materials and equipment. Raw materials include additives, photosensitive resins, solvents and sensitizers, etc. The equipment is photolithography machines. In terms of raw materials, photosensitive resin accounts for nearly 50% of the cost of UV photoresist production. Photosensitive resins contain photosensitive functional groups and are thus photosensitive. Representative products include methacrylic resin, PHS/HS-methacrylate copolymer, and phenolic resin. In recent years, my country’s photosensitive resin output has maintained a growth trend. In terms of equipment, benefiting from the improvement of independent research and development capabilities of local enterprises, the localization process of my country’s photolithography machines continues to accelerate, which provides favorable conditions for the development of the UV photoresist industry.

The midstream of the UV photoresist industry chain is product manufacturing, including UV negative photoresist and UV positive photoresist. UV negative photoresist has the advantages of fast photosensitivity, good adhesion, and good barrier effect, but it is prone to problems such as expansion and deformation during development. It is the earliest photoresist used in semiconductor photolithography processes; UV positive photoresist Photoresist has the advantages of good contrast, good step coverage, and high resolution, but it has problems such as high production cost, poor adhesion, and low market share.

The downstream of the UV photoresist industry chain is in application areas, including semiconductor discrete devices, display panels, and integrated circuits. According to the “2023-2028 China Ultraviolet Photoresist (UV Photoresist) Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center 》shows that the semiconductor field is the largest demand side for UV photoresist, accounting for nearly 70% of the demand. As application demand grows, my country’s UV photoresist market space will further expand.

The main players in my country’s UV photoresist market include Wanrun Co., Ltd., Rongda Photosensitive, Kehua Microelectronics, Guangxin Materials, etc. At present, my country’s UV photoresist companies focus on the production of mid-to-low-end products. High-end products represented by extreme ultraviolet photoresist (EUV photoresist) still rely on imports. The United States and Japan dominate my country’s high-end market.

Industry analysts said that UV photoresist is in strong demand in the semiconductor field. With the rapid development of downstream industries, my country’s UV photoresist market The scale will be further expanded. In recent years, Chinese enterprises and scientific research institutions have continued to increase their investment in the research and development of high-end products such as extreme ultraviolet photoresists. In the future, as technology levels improve, the development speed of my country’s UV photoresist industry will further accelerate.