Jiangsu-based Pacific Quartz, a Chinese manufacturer of high-purity quartz (HPQ), has already been supplying major semiconductor equipment vendors such as Lam Research and Tokyo Electron (TEL). According to market reports, the company’s materials and components have recently passed certification by a Chinese DRAM manufacturer.
TP Huang, an analyst who publishes content on platforms like Substack and podcasts, identifies this DRAM manufacturer as ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT).
A report by Tom’s Hardware notes that while Pacific Quartz’s achievement is significant, the company’s components are used in semiconductor production equipment after the silicon wafers have already been manufactured. In contrast, the silicon ingots used to make semiconductor wafers are grown in crucibles made of high-purity fused quartz; this type of quartz typically requires a purity level exceeding 99.999% SiO₂ (5N+) and adheres to stricter limits on specific key impurities.
The report states that currently, only Sibelco and The Quartz Corp—both operating in Spruce Pine, North Carolina—can supply this quality of quartz at the necessary scale; Russia’s Quartz LLC can also produce such high-purity quartz, but its output is relatively limited.
In fact, Pacific Quartz has been supplying ultra-high-purity quartz consumables—including LPCVD diffusion tubes, wafer boats, quartz ingots, quartz plates, and high-purity quartz tubes—to Lam Research and TEL since 2019–2020. Generally, the quartz used in semiconductor processing equipment requires a purity level of 4N5 to 5N (approximately 99.995% to 99.999% SiO₂). In other words, Pacific Quartz’s products are capable of meeting the demands of semiconductor equipment manufacturers.
Pacific Quartz recently announced that its quartz products—manufactured using its own high-purity quartz sand—have passed certification by a major Chinese DRAM manufacturer for use in 300mm wafer production, demonstrating a significant degree of localization within China’s quartz supply chain. Reports indicate that this development signifies the potential for domestic sourcing within China’s quartz supply chain—starting with high-purity quartz sand purified in-house by Pacific Quartz, proceeding to processing into semiconductor furnace tube materials, and culminating in supply to DRAM wafer fabs. Although ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) utilizes equipment from Lam Research and TEL, it remains uncertain whether all quartz consumables used in this equipment originate from Pacific Quartz.
Semiconductor furnace tubes are typically manufactured from high-purity fused quartz (approximately 5N grade). Strict limits are imposed on the content of electrically active and mobile impurities, as their migration to the surface or into the interior of silicon wafers during high-temperature processes could alter transistor characteristics, ultimately causing defects and reducing yields.
While Pacific Quartz is capable of producing components for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, reports note that it cannot yet manufacture the high-quality quartz crucibles required for growing 9N–11N ultra-high-purity silicon wafers; the company’s future moves warrant continued attention.