This file photo provided by SK hynix shows one of the semiconductor company’s plants in South Korea.
SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — SK hynix Inc., the world’s second largest memory chip maker, said Wednesday it had expanded the share of domestically-produced neon gas used in its chip manufacturing process to 40 percent.
Neon is one of the main components of excimer laser gas, which is used in photolithography. Thus far, South Korean chipmakers have relied only on imports from overseas.
To address supply risks, SK hynix started cooperating with steel giant POSCO and specialty gas manufacturer TEMC Co. to find a way to localize production.
POSCO and TEMC succeeded in developing neon production technology at a low cost using their existing facilities.
After evaluating and verifying the neon produced by them, SK hynix finalized localization plans early this year.
The chipmaker started using the locally-produced neon in April, and now plans to increase the portion of the neon processed in South Korea to 100 percent by 2024 from the current 40 percent.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
