About the application prospect of mask plate in optical industry

First, the basic function and importance of the mask version

The role of the mask plate is to transfer the designer's circuit pattern to the substrate or wafer in the downstream industry by exposure, so as to achieve mass production. As the benchmark and blueprint for lithographic reproduction, mask plates are the key to connecting industrial design and process manufacturing. The accuracy and quality level of the mask plate will directly affect the excellent rate of the final downstream product. In the field of integrated circuits, the function of the mask plate is similar to the "negative" of the traditional camera. With the cooperation of the lithography machine and the photoresist, the designed pattern on the mask plate is transferred to the photoresist of the substrate through the process of exposure and development, so as to copy the image, so as to achieve mass production.

The application of mask plate in the optical industry is mainly reflected in the fields of semiconductor manufacturing, flat panel display, touch screen and circuit board. Taking semiconductor manufacturing as an example, the mask plate needs to go through multiple exposure processes in the manufacturing process, and the exposure masking effect of the mask plate is used to form a gate, a source drain, a doping window, and an electrode contact hole on the surface of the semiconductor wafer. In the flat panel display manufacturing, the designed TFT array and color filter pattern are exposed and transferred to the glass substrate according to the sequence of film layer structure of the thin film transistor by using the exposure masking effect of the mask plate, and the display device with multiple film layers is finally formed.

Second, the mask version of the technical change and classification

Mask plate products have a history of more than 60 years and are used in the electronic manufacturing industry. The evolution of mask technology is slow, but the downstream application is widely, different industries have different requirements for the performance and cost of mask version, and different generations of products have a long overlap period. For example, the second generation of film mask version was born in the early 1960s, and is still used in PCB, FPC, TN/STN and other industries.

According to the different substrate materials, the mask plate can be divided into quartz mask plate, soda mask plate and other (dry plate, relief plate and film, etc.). Among them, high-purity quartz glass is mainly used for high-precision mask plate products due to its high optical transmittance, high flatness and low thermal expansion coefficient, and its application fields include flat panel display and semiconductor manufacturing. Soda mask plate and other materials are mainly used in low-precision mask plate products, the application field is liquid crystal display and circuit board manufacturing.

From the perspective of downstream application fields, the mask version can be divided into flat panel display mask version and semiconductor mask version. The panel mask version is divided into several generations according to different panel sizes, such as the G4, G5, G6, G8.5, G8.6, and G11. Semiconductor mask can be divided into integrated circuit manufacturing, integrated circuit packaging, semiconductor device manufacturing (including discrete devices, optoelectronic devices, sensors and micro-electromechanical (MEMS), LED chip epitaxial wafer manufacturing, etc.) according to the specific application field. In addition, according to the different light sources used in the lithography process, the mask plate can also be divided into binary mask plate, phase shift mask plate and EUV mask plate.

Third, the application status of mask version in the optical industry

Driven by technological progress and market demand, the global mask plate industry continues to maintain rapid development. According to SEMI estimates, the global mask market size will rise to $5.2 billion in 2022, and the overall market size will be about $5.4 billion in 2023. In China, the mask market size in 2021 is 10.80 billion yuan, and the overall market size in 2022 is about 12.636 billion yuan.

In the optical industry, the application of mask version is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

Semiconductor manufacturing: The mask plate is an indispensable key material in the semiconductor manufacturing process. With the continuous development of semiconductor technology, the accuracy and complexity of mask plate are continuously improved to meet the requirements of smaller line width and higher accuracy. For example, in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, the mask plate needs to withstand high energy EUV light, so new materials and manufacturing techniques are required.

Flat panel display: The flat panel display industry is one of the largest markets for mask applications. With the continuous development of panel technology such as TFT-LCD, AMOLED/LTPS, Micro-LED, mask plate plays an increasingly important role in the manufacturing process of flat panel display. Through exposure masking, the mask plate transfers the designed graphics to the glass substrate successively to form a display device superimposed by multiple film layers.

Touch screen: Touch screen manufacturing process also need to use mask version. The mask version transfers the designed touch pattern to the touch screen substrate through the exposure process to achieve mass production of touch functions.

Circuit board: In the circuit board manufacturing process, the mask plate is used to transfer the designed circuit pattern to the circuit board to achieve mass production of the circuit board. Although the precision requirements of the mask plate in the circuit board industry are relatively low, the mask plate is still an indispensable key material.

Fourth, the development prospects of mask plate in the optical industry

The development prospects of mask plate in the optical industry are broad, mainly driven by the following factors:

Technical progress: With the continuous development of lithography technology, the accuracy and complexity of mask plates continue to improve. For example, the emergence of EUV lithography has put forward higher requirements for the material and manufacturing technology of mask plates. In order to meet these requirements, mask plate manufacturers continue to develop new materials and processes to promote the continuous progress of mask plate technology.

Market demand growth: With the continuous development of consumer electronics, household appliances, vehicle electronics, network communications and other fields, the demand for semiconductors, flat panel displays, touch screens and other products continues to grow. The production of these products requires the use of mask plates, so the market demand for mask plates shows a trend of continuous growth.

Development of emerging application areas: With the continuous development of emerging areas such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, 5G communication, the demand for high-performance, highly integrated semiconductor and flat panel display products is growing. The development of these emerging application areas provides new market opportunities and growth room for mask edition.

Policy support and capital investment: Governments have introduced policies to support the development of semiconductor, flat panel display and other industries, and promote the coordinated development of the upstream and downstream of the relevant industrial chain. At the same time, venture capital and private equity funds have also poured into these areas, providing sufficient financial support for the development of the mask industry.

V. Conclusion

Mask plate has a broad application prospect in the optical industry, and its technical progress and market demand are showing a positive growth trend. With the continuous development of semiconductor, flat panel display, touch screen and other industries, the demand for mask will continue to grow. At the same time, the development of emerging application areas also provides new market opportunities and growth space for mask version. Under the promotion of policy support and capital investment, the mask plate industry will usher in broader development prospects.

However, the development of the mask plate industry also faces some challenges. For example, the replacement rate of mask technology is slow, but the accuracy and complexity requirements of mask versions are constantly increasing for downstream applications. Therefore, mask plate manufacturers need to continuously develop new materials and processes to meet the needs of downstream applications. In addition, the development of maskless technology has also posed a certain competitive pressure on the mask industry. Although the maskless technology is mainly used in the field of relatively low precision requirements, its production efficiency is high, and it is possible to replace the mask version technology in some fields in the future.

In summary, the application of mask plate in the optical industry has broad prospects, but it also faces some challenges. Mask manufacturers need to continuously develop new technologies and processes to meet the needs of downstream applications and stay ahead of the market competition. At the same time, the government and relevant institutions should also strengthen policy support and financial investment to promote the healthy development of the mask plate industry.