Photoinitiators are one of the core raw materials for photoresists. my country's photoinitiator industry is highly dependent on imports, with domestic dependence exceeding 95% at one point a few years ago.
In recent years, policies such as the third phase of the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund have continuously promoted the localization of photoresist production. Shanghai and other regions have introduced subsidy policies for wafer fabs to purchase domestically produced photoresists. Simultaneously, the expansion of domestic wafer fab capacity, such as the projected 1.2 million 12-inch wafers per month in China by 2025, has driven up the demand for photoresists.
Regarding domestic substitution, in 2026, the team led by Li Shaoping at the Hubei Three Gorges Laboratory successfully extracted raw materials from the traditional Chinese medicine gallnut to produce photoinitiators for photoresists. Breakthroughs were achieved in synthesis and purification technology, and the product quality reached international standards, entering the industrialization stage.
