Posted on 18 Dec 2023
South Korea and the Netherlands formed a strategic alliance on semiconductors following a visit by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to Dutch semiconductor giant Advanced Semiconductor Lithography (ASML) earlier this week, Kallanish learns.
Samsung Electronics’ president Lee Jae yong and SK Group’s president Choi Tai Yuan also visited ASML’s clean room. The South Korean delegation also met with representatives from NXP Semiconductors, a top supplier of automotive chips.
As part of the collaboration, Samsung Electronics and ASML agreed to jointly invest KRW 1 trillion ($762 million) in establishing a research facility in South Korea for the development of ultra-microscopic level semiconductor production technology using next-generation extreme ultraviolet photolithography (EUV) equipment. SK Hynix and ASML agreed to jointly develop an eco-friendly technology to minimise energy consumption during EUV-involved chipmaking. Samsung and SK also secured orders from ASML for the next-generation high-numerical aperture EUV lithography scanner ASML will launch on the market soon.
“Our countries are now going to step up our cooperation in this field. This is a promising initiative, and it is also, I believe, a real win-win situation,” said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
South Korean media SBS TV reported that South Korean chip companies and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) are engaged in a competition for semiconductor equipment introduction. South Korea wants to leverage this partnership to obtain stable supply and improve its independent production capacity of semiconductor equipment.
ASML is said to be the only manufacturer in the world capable of supplying extreme ultraviolet lithography machines for chips of seven nanometres and below with an accuracy of up to 7/100,000 of hair diameter. A single EUV machine can be sold for KRW 300 billion and the supply is very limited, according to SBS TV.
South Korea aims to increase its market share of logic chips to 10% by 2030, which is aligned with Samsung’s goal to become the largest company in this field by 2030.
Besides chips, South Korea and the Netherlands also formed strategic cooperation in green energy, science and logistics. A five-year talent exchange programme focused on the advanced chip industry is also being planned between ASML and the Eindhoven University of Technology.
Source:Kallanish
