Seizing the Era of Optical Chips for AI Computing Power: Qingdao Yuhao Microelectronics Equipment Co., Ltd.'s Equipment Capacity at the 10,000-Unit Scale Addresses the Huge Shortage of Indium Phosphide Materials

As AI large-model training and computing cluster construction enter a period of explosive growth, with inference demand increasing exponentially, data center interconnection and high-speed optical communications are fully entering the 800G and 1.6T era and are about to usher in the later 3.2T era. As a core substrate material for high-speed optical modules, lasers, and detectors, indium phosphide (InP) crystal, a key material for second-generation compound semiconductors, has become an irreplaceable “optical chip cornerstone” in AI computing networks due to its direct bandgap, high electron mobility, and excellent optoelectronic conversion efficiency.

However, the explosive expansion of downstream applications and the iterative upgrading of optical module speeds have caused the supply-demand gap for indium phosphide to continue widening. Issues including capacity bottlenecks, substrate preparation, epitaxial processes, chip design, and domestic substitution have attracted significant industry attention, pushing indium phosphide crystal materials toward a critical supply turning point. Industry data shows that global and domestic InP substrate production capacity is still unable to meet the huge shortage at the optical chip end (shortage rate: 70%). The risk of being constrained by materials is quietly becoming prominent—and the production of these materials depends precisely on crystal growth equipment.

Against this backdrop, Qingdao Yuhao Microelectronics Equipment Co., Ltd., a leading domestic enterprise in indium phosphide crystal growth equipment, is providing key support for the industry chain through solid manufacturing expertise and technological innovation. Yuhao founder Mr. Zhu Yuping leads a relevant expert R&D team in this effort.

The company's core products cover the three key stages of indium phosphide single-crystal growth furnaces, polycrystalline synthesis furnaces, and ampoule sealing furnaces, forming a closed-loop process from quartz ampoule sealing and polycrystalline synthesis to single-crystal growth. Relying on long-term experience in thermal-field design, automatic pressure control, and precise temperature-field control, Qingdao Yuhao Microelectronics Equipment can stably support the efficient preparation of 4–6 inch indium phosphide crystals, with crystal yield and consistency reaching the leading domestic level.

More significant as an industry landmark is the dual breakthrough in production capacity and intelligent manufacturing:

Scale:

The company currently has a reserve of more than 1,000 equipment units awaiting production. After moving into the new plant of the Yuhao Intelligent Equipment Industrial Park in the second half of 2026 (the new plant covers an area of 84 mu, with a plant construction area of 120,000+ square meters), it will achieve an annual delivery capacity of 10,000+ units. It will rank among the first tier of domestic equipment manufacturers and be able to quickly respond to substrate companies' urgent capacity expansion needs;

Technology:

The company has made significant progress in equipment integration management systems and automatic control. Through automatic gas filling and exhaust systems, automatic door opening and closing systems, a modular PLC architecture, remote operation and maintenance interfaces, and the digitalization of process recipes, it has significantly reduced the intensity of manual intervention and improved batch stability—precisely the “replicable capability” most scarce in large-scale InP capacity expansion. Many of the above structural systems were pioneered domestically by Yuhao.

Qingdao Yuhao has currently developed a >6-inch single-crystal growth furnace and is conducting process validation tests. At the same time, Yuhao is comprehensively developing an InP VB-method single-crystal growth furnace, with the first test machine expected to be launched by the end of 2026. It is believed that the product will be introduced to the market in full in the near future.

From optical interconnection for AI computing power to the sensing layer of LiDAR, the industrial window for indium phosphide has opened. With its “10,000-unit-scale capacity and intelligent control,” Qingdao Yuhao Microelectronics is not only an equipment supplier but also willing to become a co-builder of the localization of China's compound semiconductor materials.

In the future, we will continue to iterate single-crystal furnace temperature-field models and multiphysics coupling algorithms, working together with downstream customers so that every Yuhao equipment unit becomes a stable support for the era of optical chips.