Since Japan began restricting the export of three key materials for semiconductor and display production to South Korea in July 2019: high-purity hydrogen fluoride, fluoropolyimide, and photoresist, South Korea has been hoping that such materials can be made locally. Production to reduce dependence on Japan.
According to businessKorea, the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Resources released information on January 2 that South Korea has established a technology for mass production of high-purity hydrogen fluoride. Before Japan strengthened restrictions, South Korean chip makers mainly relied on Japanese companies to provide a high-purity hydrofluoric acid solution with a purity of 99.9999999999%, which is mainly used for wafer etching in semiconductor manufacturing processes.
Japan's exports of hydrogen fluoride to South Korea decreased rapidly after tightening controls. If the manufacturing technology established by Korean companies has no problems in terms of profitability and stable supply, it will likely pose a long-term blow to Japanese manufacturing companies.
It is understood that South Korean chemical material company Soulbrain has established a new plant in Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do, and began to produce hydrofluoric acid solution in the second half of last year. An MOTIE official said: "Soulbrain's ability to produce hydrofluoric acid solutions has doubled. Therefore, it is possible to provide about two-thirds of hydrofluoric acid solutions required by Korean semiconductor manufacturers." "This is from Japan South Korea has achieved localized production for the first time since export controls were implemented on these three products. "
An industry source said: "As far as I know, Soulbrain is ready to meet the demand for high-purity hydrofluoric acid solutions from Korean semiconductor manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix."
Although South Korea did not disclose specific capacity, South Korean economic media believes that the production scale will meet South Korea's domestic demand of about 70 to 80%.