A subsidiary of Binhua Group, Dasheng Core Materials, has successfully launched mass production of 6N grade high-purity hydrogen fluoride intended for manufacturing chips with a process technology below 28 nm. This breakthrough allows it to bypass foreign monopoly in the market of chemical reagents for semiconductor etching.
Binhua Group announced this achievement through its subsidiary, Dasheng Core Materials. Hydrogen fluoride is an indispensable chemical component for etching and cleaning processes when manufacturing advanced chips smaller than 28 nm. The breakthrough was officially certified on July 19 during a product presentation in Binzhou, Shandong Province, filling the deficit of high-purity hydrogen fluoride production capacity in the region and strengthening the domestic supply chain for chip manufacturing.
Hydrogen fluoride is known as the 'chemical cutting tool' of the semiconductor industry. The 6N grade defines purity at 99.9999%, with trace metal content not exceeding 1 ppb, which meets top international standards. Although the difference between 5N and 6N grades seems minor in decimal places, it is critical in practice: even a slight increase in metallic impurities by a few ppb during chip production can lead to a significant reduction in yield. Currently, about 80% of the global market for 6N high-purity hydrogen fluoride is controlled by foreign companies, and the price exceeds 2 million yuan per ton. Most domestic production was limited to the 5N grade, making the 6N grade a classic bottleneck for ensuring the independence of China's semiconductor supply chain.
The technological breakthrough is not a single success but a comprehensive innovation covering four key areas: multi-tube distillation, selection of low-deposition equipment materials, cylinder protection against contamination, and high-precision detection of trace impurities. These technologies collectively solve the problem of secondary contamination during production, storage, and transportation stages. The company completed the construction and commissioning of a high-purity hydrogen fluoride cylinder filling line with a capacity of 50 tons per year and received a cylinder filling license from the Shandong Institute of Special Equipment on July 16, thereby achieving full qualification across the entire chain—from laboratory to industrial use.
The commercial significance extends beyond a single product. High-purity hydrogen fluoride is the first electronic specialty chemical product launched by Binhua Group, marking the company's entry into the segment of expensive electronic chemicals. The market value of 6N grade hydrogen fluoride, exceeding 2 million yuan per ton, with high added value, will contribute to the transformation of the regional chemical industry towards high-tech electronic chemistry. The product has already been presented to key industry enterprises, and engagement with initial customers has begun.
This breakthrough is another step toward China's self-sufficiency in semiconductor materials. Despite the country's significant progress in chip development and manufacturing equipment, specialized electronic chemicals, including high-purity etching gases, polishing slurries, and photoresists, remain concentrated among suppliers from Japan, South Korea, and the United States. Each domestic 6N production base reduces one point of vulnerability in the supply chain amid increasingly intense global semiconductor competition. The capacity of 50 tons per year provides a significant initial production base for domestic factories aiming to secure critical consumables for advanced manufacturing processes.
