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- September 28, 2022
- PCB news
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- 06 mins
PCB specific electronic chemicals market analysis
PCB special electronic chemical is an essential raw material in the production of PCB. A large number of PCB special electronic chemicals are used in the production and manufacture of PCB. PCB specific electronic chemicals account for about 3%~5% of the total cost of ordinary PCB manufacturing and about 5%~10% of the total cost of high-end PCB manufacturing.
According to relevant statistics, the global PCB output value reached 80.6 billion US dollars in 2021. According to the PCB output value, the global output value of PCB special electronic chemicals in 2021 is about 30 billion yuan, increasing at a rate of 5% to 10% each year, of which high-end PCB special electronic chemicals account for more than 60%.
The major suppliers of PCB specific electronic chemicals in the world include Anometal, Dow , MacDermid , which occupy more than 70% of the market share and hold a monopoly position in the field of high-end PCB specific electronic chemicals.
Affected by the global industrial transfer and the development and growth of China’s PCB industry, China has gradually become one of the major producers of PCB chemicals in the world. According to relevant statistics, China’s PCB output value reached 43.6 billion US dollars in 2021.
According to the PCB output value, China’s PCB special electronic chemicals output value was about 14 billion yuan in 2021, of which high-end PCB special electronic chemicals accounted for about 30%.
Due to the late start of China’s PCB specific electronic chemicals industry, there is a large gap between the technology and service level of most PCB specific electronic chemicals enterprises and the world famous brands.
The performance and quality of PCB special electronic chemicals can determine the advantages and disadvantages of PCB products in integration, conduction, signal transmission and other characteristics and functions to a certain extent, so PCB manufacturer is very careful about the choice of PCB special electronic chemicals supply.
The high-end market of chemicals for PCB production has long been occupied by brands from Europe, America, Japan, China Taiwan and other places. Chinese chemical enterprises are mainly concentrated in the low-end market, and their customers are mainly small and medium-sized PCB factory.
For the chemicals used in copper deposition, electroplating and other processes with relatively large technical difficulties and high values, Chinese manufacturers have a relatively low market share.
In recent years, Chinese PCB electronic chemical enterprises have increased their investment in research and development, established research and development centers, and recruited high-level technical personnel. The level of production technology has been effectively improved, and a number of enterprises with independent research and development and creative ability have emerged.
Chemical copper deposition and electroplating are the core process of PCB and the potion used for surface solderability plating treatment, which has long been monopolized by international giants. In recent years, Chinese enterprises have made certain breakthroughs, and the specific market supply situation is as follows:
China needs to strengthen the level of high-end PCB special chemicals
The traditional process of chemical copper deposition is vertical copper deposition, which was adopted by most PCB manufacturers before 2000. In the early 1990s, Anometal developed specialized electronic chemicals for horizontal copper deposition, which were first used in Europe, America, Japan, Korea and China Taiwan.
Compared with the vertical electroless copper process, the horizontal copper process has obvious advantages in product quality, degree of automation, production environment, environmental protection and energy saving. In addition, its closed production line improves the working environment, and continuous transmission makes it easier to realize automatic wiring.
Driven by the demand of quality, technology and environmental protection, Chinese PCB manufacturers gradually adopt horizontal electroless copper deposition process instead of vertical electroless copper deposition process. Horizontal electroless copper special electronic chemicals become the main materials used in the electroless copper process.
According to relevant statistics, China’s PCB output value reached 43.6 billion US dollars in 2021. Considering the supporting demand of high-end PCB production for the horizontal electroless copper deposition production line, the capacity of the horizontal electroless copper deposition production line and other factors, according to statistics, the high-end PCB output value of 500 to 700 million yuan supports one horizontal copper deposition production line.
At present, Chinese PCB manufacturers have invested about 250 horizontal electroless copper deposition lines in high-end PCB production.
The substitution rate of China’s domestic electroplating special chemicals has increased
With the development of the electronics industry, the ratio of PCB board thickness to hole sizes is getting larger and larger, and the circuit is getting thinner and thinner. Copper plating has become one of the biggest challenges in PCB manufacturing. Furthermore, it affects the uniformity of copper coating on the PCB surface.
For PCB with high circuit density such as HDI and carrier board, the uniformity of coating has a great influence on the fine circuit production of a circuit board. Insoluble anode technology can solve the above problems, so the use of insoluble anode technology for electroplating special electronic chemicals become the focus of research and development.
The insoluble anode horizontal pulse electroplating potion has broken through the monopoly of other countries
The insoluble anode horizontal pulse electroplating filling product uses pure copper to supplement the copper source, applies non-oxygen development insoluble anode, and the copper coating on the plating filling surface is thin, which can meet the requirements of HDI and similar carrier plates for fine lines.
The product is applied in the horizontal plating line, the distance between the cathode and the anode is close, the uniformity of the plate surface is good, and the horizontal line design is conducive to the production line management.
The competitiveness of China’s insoluble anode DC electroplating potion filling enterprises is enhanced
The insoluble anode DC electroplating filling products supplement copper ions by adding copper oxide powder, which can be applied to insoluble anode DC filling, and has the advantages of high electroplating efficiency and good reliability. The insoluble anode DC electroplating filling products were originally used in the production of sealing loading plates.
JCU’s sealing loading plate electroplating special electronic chemicals are in the leading position in the industry. With the development of arbitrary layer interconnect HDI, the application of insoluble anode DC electroplating filling products has gradually expanded, and JCU has become a leading company in the PCB filling electroplating market.
At present, there are about 200 production lines of Chinese PCB manufacturers using insoluble anode DC electroplating hole filling products. Many companies have also developed products with similar performance and mass production applications in recent years, and their market share is gradually expanding.
Substitution rate of surface treatment specialty chemicals increased
With the development of electronic products and equipment towards faster, lighter, smaller and more functional direction, it requires printed circuit boards and packaging technology to be more precise, and the surface treatment process of circuit boards suitable for packaging technology puts forward new requirements.
As a special electronic chemical provider for these surface treatments, it is still mainly concentrated in Europe, America and Japan. Chinese companies are also gradually catching up and have made great progress in OSP.
With the continuous attention of Chinese enterprises to the localization of core raw materials in the upstream supply chain, Chinese PCB specialized electronic chemicals enterprises are facing good development opportunities. However, Chinese enterprises are still in the development stage, and the localization rate of some chemicals is high.
Chinese enterprises of key chemicals have begun to master some core technologies, and their product performance has reached the level of well-known brands, but their brand awareness is not enough. At the same time, they have insufficient independent development and innovation capabilities and product upgrading capabilities.
It is expected that Chinese enterprises will increase technology research and development, make breakthroughs in the field of high-end PCB special electronic chemicals, break the monopoly situation of many enterprises, and accelerate the localization and autonomy of China’s PCB industrial chain.
