An explosion occurred at Dow factory, affecting photoresist supply?

An explosion and fire broke out at Dow Chemical's factory in Louisiana on the 15th Eastern Time. Although there were no casualties, the factory produces key semiconductor consumables such as photoresists and polishing pads/liquids, which are mainly used for mature process wafer manufacturing. This has stirred up nerves in the industry. Manufacturers related to Taiwan's mature wafer foundry processes, such as UMC, Worldwide, and Power Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., are paying close attention to subsequent developments and currently assess that production will not be affected.

Dow Chemical is an important global supplier of key chemical materials for semiconductors. The high-purity chemical product line provides a series of photoresist materials, including photoresists, photoresist auxiliaries, etc. It also supplies the world's important CMP materials including polishing pads and polishing fluids. wait.

From the perspective of industrial status, Dow Chemical accounts for about 17% of the global photoresist market, 79% of the CMP polishing pad market, and about 15% of the CMP polishing liquid market.

Semiconductor industry insiders said that Dow Chemical photoresist is mainly used in mature processes, and its impact on advanced processes is relatively limited. The impact on mature processes remains to be seen, and it will affect other non-semiconductor chemical consumables.

At present, it seems that Taiwan's wafer manufacturers have multiple sources of consumables. Take TSMC as an example. In the past, Nanke Wafer 14B factory encountered a photoresist pollution incident. At that time, the company had already controlled related chemicals and actively evaluated the introduction of more diversified photoresist suppliers. Japanese manufacturers were favored due to their stable quality.

TSMC is also one of the main suppliers of mature processes. However, the company is currently in a period of silence before the legal meeting. The industry assesses that TSMC has a variety of suppliers. The explosion at the Dow Chemical plant should not have a direct impact on TSMC.

Taiwanese manufacturers such as Advanced Micro Devices, UMC, and Power Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. are also paying close attention to relevant events. UMC's preliminary assessment is that relevant consumable products will have safety stocks, and the explosion at the Dow Chemical plant will not have an impact on UMC's factories. Power Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. said that its current operations are not affected by related incidents.

In addition, distributors Holley and Chongyue are agents of Japanese original photoresists and consumables. Currently, Japanese manufacturers play a key role in advanced process photoresists. Chongyue mentioned that the supply of consumables such as photoresist and CMP is normal at this stage and will not be affected; as for whether there will be any benefit from switching orders or subsequent impacts, it must be continuously observed.

As an important global supplier of semiconductor-grade chemicals, Dow Chemical not only has a high-purity chemical product line, but also provides a series of photolithography materials, including photoresists, photolithography solvents, photolithography auxiliaries, etc. At the same time, Dow Chemical is also an important global supplier of CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) materials, including polishing pads, polishing fluids, etc.

Therefore, the explosion at the Dow Chemical plant attracted the attention of many people in the semiconductor industry.

Data show that Dow has four factories in Louisiana: Plaquemine, Grand Bayou, Hahnville and Greensburg. These four factories produce More than 100 basic and specialty chemicals sold worldwide. It provides employment opportunities for more than 4,000 local Dow and contract employees and injects more than $1 billion into the Louisiana economy annually.

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