According to media reports, LG has confirmed that its display panel factory has replaced the Japanese-made hydrogen fluoride material used in its production with Korean-made materials. At present, the domestic self-made rate of hydrogen fluoride reaches 100%, and it is no longer necessary to import the material from Japan. .
In fact, high-purity industrial grade hydrogen fluoride is a special chemical, a very important raw material in semiconductor production, and Japanese companies have a high market share in this field. However, compared to the high-purity industrial grade hydrogen fluoride used in semiconductor manufacturing processes, the purity of hydrogen fluoride used in the etching and cleaning processes in the display panel industry is low, and it is easier to localize due to lower production difficulty.
The report pointed out that just after Japan announced export restrictions, Japan's exports of hydrogen fluoride to South Korea fell to zero in August. However, this did not affect the wafer and display panel production of Korean companies such as Samsung, SK Hynix and LG. Instead, it stimulated these companies to use 3-5 months of inventory turnaround time to actively explore alternative materials.
In terms of hydrogen fluoride used in semiconductor production, although Samsung and SK Hynix are actively working on the replacement of Japanese materials, the dependence of wafers on hydrogen fluoride, photoresist, and fluorinated polyimide produced in Japan is higher. Therefore, from the point of view of the current production capability, it is unlikely that it will be completely replaced by Korean-made.
