Breaking free from reliance on Japanese companies! South Korea’s SK Materials has achieved mass production of high-purity hydrogen fluoride.

According to BusinessKorea, SK Materials on the 6th... On the 17th, it was announced that large-scale production of high-purity hydrogen fluoride gas for semiconductor manufacturing has begun.

It is reported that South Korea had previously been importing high-purity hydrogen fluoride from Japan. However, last July, the Japanese government added three materials—fluorinated polyimide, photoresist, and hydrogen fluoride—to its export control list for South Korea, forcing South Korean semiconductor companies to seek alternative solutions.

The report stated that SK Materials successfully developed a prototype of ultra-high-purity hydrogen fluoride gas at the end of last year and has built a 15-ton production facility at its Yeongju plant in northern Gyeongsang Province, with the goal of raising the localization rate to 70% by 2023.

In addition, the company plans to invest 40 billion Korean won to build a factory that will produce photoresist—a product also subject to Japanese export restrictions. According to reports, the company is currently selecting a site for the factory, with an aim to complete construction next year and begin producing 50,000 gallons of photoresist annually starting in 2022.

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