As the global semiconductor market continues to expand, domestic wafer manufacturing and advanced packaging production lines are entering a new peak of capacity expansion. Behind the continuous shrinking of chip dimensions and increasingly complex structures, requirements for micro-vibration control, air cleanliness, and temperature/humidity precision in production workshops have risen significantly. Semiconductor fab construction has evolved from simple building work into complex environmental control engineering.
As an early participant in China's semiconductor engineering sector, China Electronics System Engineering No.2 Construction Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "CESE2") serves over 90% of China's leading semiconductor companies . Standing at the crossroads of industrial transformation, how do engineering contractors address extreme environmental challenges brought by advanced processes? How is the "last mile" of domestic substitution bridged?
Source: eefocus
To answer these questions, we interviewed Ding Zhaofeng, General Manager of the Shanghai Region at CESE2, during the 26th China International Industry Fair (CIIF). His Shanghai team operates at the forefront of China's integrated circuit innovation hub. In the interview, Ding provided an in-depth analysis of the practical difficulties facing high-tech fab engineering, technical pathways to ensure stable and reliable production line environments, and the role of engineering contractors within the entire industry chain.
From "Building Fabs" to "Full-Chain Environmental Services"
Looking back, CESE2 has participated in the construction of many domestic wafer production lines. From Wuxi Factory 742 in 1980 (mainland China's first 3.0-inch line), Shougang NEC in 1993 (mainland China's first 6-inch line), Huahong NEC in 1998 (mainland China's first 8-inch line), to Shanghai Huali in 2010 (mainland China's first 12-inch line), generations of engineers explored and broke through challenges on-site.
In the past, the primary task of fab construction was meeting basic cleanliness requirements. Now, with the rapid development of Chiplet, 2.5D/3D Advanced Packaging, and compound semiconductors, the difficulty of environmental control has increased exponentially.
Ding pointed out that the current challenge lies in simultaneously satisfying multiple extreme metrics. For example, strictly controlling Airborne Molecular Contamination (AMC) requires increasing fresh air intake, but this directly leads to fluctuations in temperature and humidity and a significant rise in energy consumption; improving the fab's resistance to micro-vibration requires reinforcing large-span structures, which may affect airflow uniformity inside the cleanroom.
Therefore, the positioning of engineering contractors is no longer just "building fabs," but providing Lifecycle Lean EPC (L-EPC) services, covering pre-project site selection consulting and process design, construction implementation, specialized system integration, and post-commissioning smart operation and maintenance. This model covers the entire industry chain, including semiconductor materials, chip manufacturing, and packaging/testing, aiming to help clients find optimal solutions under multiple constraints.
Solving Engineering Challenges with Digital Technology and Prefabrication
Facing tight schedules and high standards for production line construction, CESE2 ensures quality and progress primarily through two pragmatic approaches: "Digital Technology" and "Factory Prefabrication."
Ding provided detailed insights on this.
First is the introduction of "AI+Engineering" and digital twin technology. CESE2 established an Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, integrating digital technology throughout the entire process. On the design side, leveraging historical big data from over 1,500 projects, AI assists in generating process layout plans, improving design efficiency by more than 30%. On the simulation side, AI-driven CFD airflow organization and energy consumption simulations shorten the simulation cycle by more than 40%, allowing precise temperature/humidity control and structural anti-vibration schemes to be fully simulated before construction begins.
Second is the promotion of "factory prefabrication." Projects use BIM deepened design to prefab high-purity pipes, automatic flange ducts, and assembled supports/hangers in standard factories, achieving an on-site assembly rate of over 85%. Welding in controlled factory environments ensures a weld pass rate above 99%, while on-site installation efficiency increases by over 50%. This "plug-and-play" modular construction significantly reduces the uncertainty of non-standard on-site operations.
In the post-commissioning O&M phase, clients can use the self-developed CEI Around Smart O&M Platform. Facility systems perform adaptive energy efficiency adjustments based on actual production line status. Real operational data shows that this smart facility solution helps clients reduce energy costs by more than 10% while decreasing equipment failure rates by approximately 50%.
Acting as the "Ballast Stone" for Domestic Substitution and Capacity Expansion
Currently, the localization of domestic semiconductor equipment and materials is accelerating, presenting great opportunities for fab construction but also specific challenges. Many domestic equipment items are currently in a "verify while optimizing" stage, where physical dimensions, pipe interfaces, and power parameters may undergo minor adjustments with each batch, lacking unified standards, which introduces uncertainty to traditional facility design.
In response, Ding stated that CESE2's approach is to proactively engage early and maintain sufficient flexibility. When designing facility systems, they adopt modular, flexibly scalable solutions, leaving room for calibration and adaptation for domestic equipment in the early stages of construction, rather than waiting for equipment to be fully finalized before modifying designs. This significantly reduces engineering risks when clients switch to domestic equipment.
Meanwhile, the company actively participates in infrastructure construction. For example, it built the "Integrated Equipment Localization Integration and Verification Platform" in Changsha, providing dedicated Class 100 cleanroom environments for entry verification of domestic equipment. CESE2 also consolidates common issues encountered across projects, having led and participated in compiling over 90 national and industry standards, striving to transform case-specific experience into public capabilities for the entire industry.
Semiconductor fab construction is a full-chain collaborative process. Ding believes the role of engineering contractors is straightforward: serving as the industry's "foundation" and "guarantee." By building fast, stable, and cost-effective fabs, semiconductor enterprises can focus all their capital, talent, and energy on process R&D and chip products themselves.
Pragmatic Advice for Semiconductor Companies
Drawing on years of semiconductor engineering practice, Ding offered three pertinent suggestions for the upcoming wave of capacity expansion and technology upgrades:
- Fully value the long-term importance of the "foundation." Chip manufacturing is a marathon. Behind capacity, yield, and cost control lies the support of a stable, green, and efficient facility environment. Fab infrastructure is a long-term investment worthy of serious attention.
- Ensure stability while pursuing speed. The essence of semiconductor manufacturing is precision. If rushing progress causes fluctuations in the process environment, resulting in substandard yields after mass production, it ultimately wastes more time and money.
- Treat facility systems as part of productivity. Facility systems have a significant hidden impact on chip yield. Early lean design layouts and full-lifecycle O&M capabilities will bring tangible returns to enterprises over the decades-long operational life of the fab.
Currently, besides deeply cultivating the domestic market, CESE2 has established subsidiaries in Thailand and Vietnam, and a branch in Malaysia, coordinating engineering construction in emerging markets. Ding emphasized that regardless of future industrial transformation and upgrading, CESE2 will continue to uphold the philosophy of "beginning with the end in mind, building with lean principles," ensuring the environmental foundation is sufficiently reliable, cost-effective, and fast for its clients.