[News] Joint Team Led by Shanghai AI Lab Cracks Stable Production Challenge for Photoresist

Shanghai AI Laboratory announced a breakthrough in the stable production of photoresists — one of the core materials used in semiconductor manufacturing. As a critical material in chip fabrication, the quality of photoresists directly determines chip performance and manufacturing yield.

Backed by China’s “2030 New Generation Artificial Intelligence” national science and technology initiative, the joint team — comprising Shanghai AI Laboratory, Xiamen University, and Suzhou Laboratory among other partners — leveraged the “AMix” scientific foundation model and the “AMix” scientific discovery platform to establish a closed-loop R&D framework integrating “AI-driven decision-making + automated synthesis.”

Using this system, the team successfully developed KrF photoresist resin featuring high purity, strong consistency, and high production efficiency.

The platform has already supported multiple rounds of automated synthesis and performance verification, with inter-batch consistency showing significant improvement.

Meanwhile, Xiamen Hengkun New Material Technology Co., Ltd. has completed resin adaptation work based on the experience in photoresist formulation development. After meeting key industrial performance targets, the material is set to enter the customer validation stage.

(Photo credit: FREEPIK)