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DJEL

Semiconductors · Ningbo, China · Founded 2014

Established in 2014 by founder Yu Zongchang, a former ASML engineer, Dongfang Jingyuan Electron Limited (DJEL) is a Beijing-headquartered company operating in the semiconductor sector with a focus on integrated circuit (IC) yield management. The company's establishment included the simultaneous founding of Xtal in Silicon Valley, with both entities reportedly working to transfer semiconductor technology to China. DJEL has garnered significant financial backing through multiple funding rounds, including a Series C of nearly 1 billion yuan in November 2022 and another round of several hundred million yuan in April 2024, with investors like Shenzhen Capital Group, to fuel product R&D and production expansion. DJEL provides both hardware equipment and software solutions aimed at improving production efficiency and yield for semiconductor manufacturers. Its client base consists of major semiconductor design and fabrication companies, primarily within China. The business model centers on the development and sale of proprietary equipment and software that are critical for advanced chip manufacturing processes. This strategy positions DJEL as a key domestic supplier in China's effort to build a self-sufficient semiconductor industry. The company was designated a national-level "little giant" in 2021, a status that often precedes substantial investment and growth expectations. The company's product portfolio includes a range of specialized equipment and software for IC yield management. Hardware offerings feature nano-scale electron beam inspection (EBI) systems for defect detection, critical dimension scanning electron microscopes (CD-SEM) for measurement, and defect review SEM (DR-SEM) equipment. On the software side, DJEL develops computational lithography (EDA) products, specifically Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) software, which is essential for optimizing the lithography process in printing fine circuit patterns. One of its core concepts is the HPO™ (Holistic Process Optimization) platform, a DTCO (Design Technology Co-optimization) solution designed to integrate and optimize the entire process from chip design to manufacturing for yield maximization. The company has also developed a yield data management platform, YieldBook, and a strict lithography simulation software, PanGen Sim®. Keywords: semiconductor equipment, integrated circuit yield management, computational lithography, electron beam inspection, CD-SEM, DR-SEM, Optical Proximity Correction, EDA software, wafer defect detection, lithography simulation, semiconductor manufacturing, yield optimization, Design Technology Co-optimization, Yu Zongchang, EBI systems, PanGen, YieldBook, Holistic Process Optimization, nano-scale metrology, Chinese semiconductor industry