Russia is preparing a major expansion in its domestic base of microelectronics materials. By 2028, 98 new materials are expected to be developed and serially produced. The program includes highly specialized products ranging from neutron-transmutation-doped silicon and silicon-on-insulator structures to photomasks and ultra-high-purity mercury, all aimed at reducing dependence on foreign suppliers.
The plan is supported by government funding of 4.68 billion rubles ($45 million) for 2026-2028. The program is estimated to have a budgetary effect of around 5.29 billion rubles and contribute to the creation of about 160 new jobs by 2028.
But those numbers are part of a much wider attempt to fix some of the less obvious problems in Russia’s supply chain of semiconductors.
From Materials to Microelectronic Autonomy
The semiconductor industry needs more than just chip designs and lithography tools. Modern electronics require an entire ecosystem of highly specialized materials, all made to very tight specs.
So one, seemingly obscure, substance can bottleneck an entire production cycle. The existing Russian program aims to eliminate these shortcomings by transferring a wider range of materials from research and experimental production to serial production.
The program is part of a wider effort to build up Russia’s electronics industry. Several materials are already under development or in pilot production, while others are already being targeted for full-scale industrial production.
The long-term objective is a large rise in the share of indigenous equipment and materials in the Russian microelectronics sector.
Neutron-Transmutation-Doped Silicon for Power Electronics
One of the most important technical initiatives is the planned serial manufacture of polished wafers and 150-mm ingots from neutron-transmutation-doped monocrystalline silicon.
Neutron-transmutation doping differs from normal semiconductor doping because the irradiation of neutrons converts atoms within the silicon crystal, leaving dopant atoms with a very uniform distribution.
That homogeneity is particularly important for high-power semiconductor devices. Variations in electrical properties across a silicon wafer can influence the performance, efficiency, and reliability of power devices.
Neutron-transmutation-doped silicon can be used to make high-voltage diodes, thyristors, and other power semiconductor components.
Russia has a lot of expertise already with this technology. The technique has been developed and used at the research reactor facilities in Obninsk, offering the country a technological platform for scaling up to a higher output.
The difficulty is now scaling up industrially. Making modest amounts of specialized silicon is one thing, but making a steady stream of 150-mm wafers to fill many semiconductor makers’ needs is another.
Silicon-on-Insulator for Custom Chips
Another group of strategic importance is silicon-on-insulator, or SOI, structures. The device is being developed using 100-mm SOI structures with hidden cavities.
SOI technology replaces the traditional silicon substrate with an insulating framework, with a thin active silicon layer placed on top. This architecture offers electrical isolation and can reduce parasitic effects, as well as offer specialized circuits that consume less power and perform better.
SOI is particularly useful in applications where radiation resistance, electrical isolation, and predictable device characteristics are crucial.
This makes the technology suitable for aerospace, nuclear, military, industrial, and other demanding applications where conventional semiconductor structures may not provide the required level of radiation tolerance.
Russian research and production firms already use radiation-resistant CMOS technologies based on SOI. The new effort is aimed at increasing the domestic supply of the semiconductor structures themselves.
That’s an important distinction. But if the wafers needed for that process still have to be imported, developing a domestic chip production process is only half the battle.
Photomasks: The Hidden Bottleneck
The program also addresses a second key element: photomasks for projection and contact lithography.
In essence, photomasks are the pattern templates used to put circuit designs onto semiconductor wafers. Each major layer of an integrated circuit must have exceedingly accurate pattern information.
If the lithography equipment is working, but the photomasks are unreliable, you won’t get the chip design you want.
Russia is thus trying to develop domestic manufacture of photomasks for process technologies in the 0.35–0.24 micron range, including quartz substrates and certain anti-reflective coatings.
These products have typically been sourced from big foreign producers. Creating domestic production would also help to minimize one of the less evident dependencies in Russia’s semiconductor production chain.
The usefulness of photomasks becomes very evident when one considers that photomasks are not generic pieces of glass. Their dimensions, surface quality, pattern precision, and optical qualities are to be compatible with the lithography technique in which they are utilized.
Why Ultra-Pure Mercury Is Important
Ultra-high-purity mercury may be the most unusual material to be featured in the program.
At first glance, mercury doesn’t seem to have much to do with modern chip fabrication. However, the demand for some exotic materials, which have uses focused in certain technologies, is determined by very specialized electrical and optoelectronic systems.
Ultra-pure mercury and mercury-containing semiconductor compounds are relevant for particular sensors, detectors, and optoelectronic systems.
One crucial area is infrared detection technology. Mercury-containing semiconductor materials, like cadmium-mercury-telluride, are used to make infrared photodetectors that can detect radiation in significant parts of the infrared spectrum.
These technologies are applied in thermal imaging, research instrumentation, aircraft, and other niche applications.
Ultra-pure mercury is crucial in Russia’s materials-development programs to enable the electronics industry to produce not only standard silicon but also advanced sensors and detectors.
Building the Supply Chain Behind the Chip
The significance of Russia’s 98-material program is therefore less about any individual product and more about the depth of the supply chain it is attempting to establish.
Neutron-transmutation-doped silicon addresses the requirements of power electronics. SOI structures are the basis for a large class of specialized and radiation-resistant integrated circuits. Lithography is enabled by photomasks. Specialized semiconductor and optoelectronic technologies rely on ultra-pure mercury and similar materials.
The quantity of indigenous materials generated for the electronics sector is continuously increasing, and the latest program aims to accelerate that trend by directly supporting development and industrialization by the state.
The main hurdle will be translating experimental and pilot technology into reliable mass manufacturing.
A material may be effectively produced in a research center and still have major hurdles to overcome before it is transformed into an industrial product. Semiconductor manufacturers require stable specs, repeatable quality, qualified production processes, and predictable long-term supplies.
The program’s success hinges not only on Russia inventing 98 new materials but also on reliably producing them at economically viable prices for domestic electronics makers.
“If we can make that transition, the implications could go much further than the individual materials.
This would give Russia a deeper domestic base for making power semiconductors, radiation-resistant chips, sensors, photodetectors, and other specialized electronics—while cutting the number of foreign-sourced components that could become bottlenecks in the country’s semiconductor industry.