Recently, the highly anticipated SEMICON China 2026 exhibition for the global semiconductor industry was held in Shanghai. The new technology launch event jointly organized by SEMI and Anbox was the highlight of the exhibition, and it kicked off in the morning of that day. At the event, Li Ruipeng, the technical director of Yangfan Semiconductor Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Yangfan Semiconductor), presented innovative results of the cleaning equipment, which became the focus of attention at the scene.

Yangfan Semiconductor was established in 2018. It is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the research and manufacturing of semiconductor production equipment. The company possesses the only domestic third-generation semiconductor front-end shared pilot production platform in China. It has accumulated rich experience in key process steps such as cutting, grinding, polishing, and cleaning of new semiconductor materials like silicon carbide and gallium nitride.

In recent years, Yangfan Semiconductor has been accelerating its development pace. At the beginning of 2025, the company signed an export order for "a complete set of process processing technology solutions" with its client enterprises, achieving the first overseas export of its independently developed semiconductor production equipment. This solution includes multiple combined machines from crystal ingots to finished products, along with complete process technology support. All the equipment, consumables, and parts used are domestic products, saving the client about 40% in equipment costs and approximately 30% in product costs.

At the new technology press conference, Li Ruipeng detailed the company's latest breakthroughs in the field of semiconductor cleaning. He pointed out that as silicon carbide power devices become more widely used in high-end applications such as electric vehicles, the traditional cleaning methods for silicon wafers have been unable to meet the cleaning requirements for silicon carbide substrates and epitaxial wafers. The surface oxide layer of silicon carbide is thin and the particle adsorption method is special, so the cleaning effect of chemicals alone is limited.

Therefore, Yangfan Semiconductor independently developed the RCA cleaning and scrubbing machine. This equipment, through innovative modular design and flow field optimization, can effectively remove tiny particles from the surface of the wafers. Li Ruiping introduced that compared with traditional equipment, this cleaning machine can save over 50% of chemicals, over 70% of pure water, reduce waste liquid and energy consumption, and at the same time increase the space utilization rate of the cleanroom by 67%. In actual production, the cleaning effect of 200-millimeter silicon carbide wafers has been recognized by customers.

He also introduced the company's exploration in advanced process cleaning. By regulating the concentration of dissolved gases in water, such as using functional water technology that combines hydrogen and ammonia water, damage to metal layers like copper and cobalt during the cleaning process can be reduced, helping to solve problems such as the increase in metal types and the narrowing of process windows in chip manufacturing. This technology not only reduces the amount of chemicals used, but also performs well in terms of environmental protection.

In the future, Yangfan Semiconductor will continue to focus on developing efficient, green and high-precision wet cleaning technologies, helping domestic semiconductor manufacturing achieve higher levels of self-control and high-quality development.