Samsung Electronics localizes the entirely imported semiconductor material

Samsung Electronics, along with mid-sized South Korea company Paik Kwang Industrial, has successfully localized ultra-high purity hydrogen chloride, a key material used for semiconductors that is entirely imported from Japan and Germany. The company succeeded in the localization of a material for which South Korea has been heavily dependent on Japan in about two years after the Japanese government-imposed export controls in semiconductor materials in July 2019.

According to Samsung Electronics and the semiconductor industry on Tuesday, the two companies recently completed a quality test for ultra-high purity hydrogen chloride, which is actually applied to semiconductor facilities of Samsung Electronics. Their contract will be finalized in the second half of this year.

Ultra-high purity hydrogen chloride is used as an etching solution during the etching process to remove the unnecessary parts and only leave the semiconductor circuit on wafers. Samsung Electronics has been importing the material from Toagosei in Japan and Linde in Germany via its partner SoulBrain. Its last year import alone amounted to about 57 billion won. “The localization is meaningful as it reduces our dependency on a single country for a key material and diversifies supply sources,” said a member of Samsung Electronics.


Do-Young Kwak now@donga.com