According to BusinessKorea, in order to solve the export restrictions of Japanese semiconductor materials, Samsung Electronics has ordered high-purity hydrogen fluoride from China, and SK hynix has also begun testing hydrogen fluoride materials imported from China.
According to reports, to produce the most advanced semiconductors, it is necessary to use hydrogen fluoride with a purity of 99.999%. Japanese manufacturers have an absolute leading position in high-purity hydrogen fluoride technology and control the market share of 80%-90%. Japan's hydrogen fluoride accounts for about 43.9% of Korea's total hydrogen fluoride imports, while nearly 100% of the high-purity hydrogen fluoride used in semiconductor manufacturing is imported from Japan. It can be seen that the restrictions imposed by Japan have a great impact on the Korean semiconductor industry.
It is understood that Samsung Electronics recently ordered high-purity hydrogen fluoride from Xi'an, China and Texas, USA. At the same time, SK hynix also began testing high-purity hydrogen fluoride materials supplied by Korean company Soulbrain, which is said to be importing hydrogen fluoride raw materials from China.
According to relevant sources in the Korean semiconductor industry, Samsung’s previous high-purity hydrogen fluoride was supplied by Japan’s Stella Chemifa, Morita Chemical Industries and Showa Denko. Due to differences in production technology, whether the non-Japanese hydrogen fluoride tested by Samsung can be actually used is still very uncertain..
According to reports, Samsung is expected to take two to three months to know whether the use of non-Japanese hydrogen fluoride can produce and produce the same quality semiconductor. In addition to testing, verification time may be longer. So even if Samsung and Sk Hynix find an alternative raw material supplier, it will be difficult to solve the problem in the short term.
