On September 23, Hefei IC Valley Microelectronics Co., Ltd.' 6-inch GaAs (Gallium Arsenide) wafer manufacturing line reached a major milestone as the core advanced lithography equipment was officially moved in and installed. This marks a leapfrog upgrade in the company's wafer manufacturing process capabilities and accelerates the industrialization of high-end RF microwave chips in Hefei.
As a core and critical equipment for compound semiconductor wafer manufacturing, the advanced lithography equipment installed this time precisely meets the advanced lithography process requirements for compound semiconductors such as GaAs. It is the core cornerstone for the production line to achieve mass production of high-end chips, and will build solid core hardware support for the company's technology iteration and capacity upgrade.
Process Capability Upgrade, Building a Solid Technical Barrier for RF Chips
Lithography is the core process in semiconductor wafer manufacturing, directly determining the precision, performance, and stability of chips. The implementation of this new equipment will comprehensively upgrade the wafer manufacturing process level of IC Valley, significantly optimize the gate line control precision, and effectively improve the consistency and stability of device feature sizes.
Relying on this advanced equipment, the production line will have the mass production capability for microwave and RF devices with smaller gate lengths and ultra-high frequencies, comprehensively empowering the process iteration and upgrade of the company's MMIC (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit) products. In core fields such as 5G communications, microwave and millimeter-wave, and high-end RF, it will further consolidate the company's technical advantages, reinforce core technical barriers, and help product performance continuously lead the industry.
Steadily Advancing Production Line Construction, Accelerating Transformation to a Full IDM Industry Chain
The installation of the lithography equipment is a key step in the construction of IC Valley's 6-inch GaAs wafer production line, and also an important breakthrough for the enterprise to improve its industrial layout and upgrade its manufacturing model. The project is located in the Hefei High-tech Zone. It is a key layout project for the regional compound semiconductor industry, with a total investment of about CNY 1.1 billion, and the industrial base covers an area of 55 mu.
The project focuses on the mass production and manufacturing of 6-inch gallium arsenide wafers. The core goal is to open up the full industry chain closed-loop of chip design, wafer manufacturing, and packaging and testing, completely get rid of the single-link production model, and comprehensively transform to the industry-mainstream high-end IDM (Integrated Device Manufacturing) model, significantly improving the overall operational efficiency and industrial competitiveness of the enterprise.
Notably, the construction of the IC Valley production line has been steadily accelerating. As early as May 2025, the company had completed the relocation of the high-temperature ion implanter, a core equipment. The smooth installation of the lithography equipment this time marks the continuous improvement of the core equipment layout of the production line, and the mass production preparation has entered a critical stage. After the project reaches full production capacity, it will achieve a scaled capacity of an annual production of 30 million chips and 20,000 sets of modules.
Deepening Focus on Compound Semiconductors, Building a Core Force for Domestic Substitution
Founded in 2014, IC Valley is a National Specialized, Refined, Distinctive, and Innovative "Little Giant" Enterprise deeply engaged in the domestic RF compound semiconductor field. It has long focused on the two mainstream compound semiconductor technology routes: GaAs (Gallium Arsenide) and GaN (Gallium Nitride).
The company has accumulated nearly 30 years of experience in compound semiconductor technology, deeply inheriting the core technology system of the US IDM enterprise Excelics, and possesses a profound technical foundation. The product frequency bands comprehensively cover the DC-110GHz microwave and millimeter-wave frequency bands, and are widely adapted to multiple high-end application scenarios such as high-end communications, microwave detection, and industrial RF.
For a long time, the manufacturing of high-end microwave RF chips has been a key shortcoming in the domestic IC (Integrated Circuit) industry, and also a core breakthrough area for domestic substitution. The landing and production of IC Valley's 6-inch GaAs wafer manufacturing line will effectively fill the industrial gap in the field of high-end microwave chip manufacturing in the Hefei High-tech Zone.
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