Dongjin Semichem and ENF Technology have sent requests to their customers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to increase the price of thinners by up to 50%, TheElec has learned.The companies are asking for the raise to come in to affect starting in April. Samsung and SK are running simulations to cons

The top three fab equipment manufacturers in South Korea are expected to post record earnings in 2021 from record spending in the global semiconductor and display industries.Semes, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, recorded its highest ever sales in 2020. Its previous record was 2.03 trillion won

Telechips have succeeded in commercializing 14-nanometer (nm) application processor for automobile cockpit, TheElec has learned.The firm will be supplying the chip, Dolphin 3 (model name: TCC805X), to a Chinese automobile company through a local tier-1 supplier.Mass production and supply will begin

KNW said on Monday that it has completed the acquisition of Solvay Korea.The company acquired 4 million shares for 20 billion won.KNW has secured fluorine (F2) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) businesses through the acquisition. The chemicals are used for semiconductor production and as insulators in g

South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on Thursday that it has formed a council to promote collaboration between local semiconductor and automobile companies.The announcement comes amid a global shortage of semiconductors that have caused automobile companies to suspend production

A research team of a South Korean university has developed a 738GHz high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) for potential applications in 6G networks.The team led by professor Kim Dae-hyun of Kyungpook National University’s College of IT Engineering developed the HEMT. It is over 30GHz than the pre

A new academic paper shown at SPIE (Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers) Advanced Lithography event sheds light on the performance of Nextin’s upcoming 3D wafer pattern inspection equipment Iris.The paper, called Comparative near infrared through-focus scanning optical microscopy for

Nordic Semiconductor will expand into the cellular Internet of Things (IoT) market of South Korea this year, a company executive said.Nordic has focused on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) so far. But starting this year, it will supply long-distance wireless technology, Sean Choi, the company’s regional s

Samsung Electronics has secured stakes in a South Korean company that manufacturers pellicles used in semiconductor production.FST said on Tuesday that it has issued 1.52 million shares for Samsung to purchase. The Korean tech giant will secure a 6.9% stake in the company, becoming the third largest

Global chip sales is expected to remain strong in 2021 but also challenging and will require bold actions from the government for US to capitalize on them, a senior executive of the semiconductor industry said on Thursday.In 2020, industry sales for the year ticked up 6.8% from the 2019 total, reach

Samsung Electronics’ application of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology on its latest DRAM has showed fabrication benefits in scaling, expediting production and improved performance yields, according to reverse engineering analysis firm Techinsights.Samsung applied EUV technology on 1zn

SK Hynix said on Wednesday that it will be spending 4.75 trillion won (around US$4.3 billion) up to December 1, 2025 to procure extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment.The South Korean chip giant will be purchasing them from ASML of the Netherlands.The amount is equal to 7.34% of its total a

Semiconductor testing solution company TSE said on Wednesday that it is supplying die carrier socket for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) testing to a global memory manufacturer.HBM are mostly supplied in die form, instead of in a molding package. The last testing on the good was using a probe card on th

Samsung Electronics’ president of its memory business has been named the chairman of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association (KSIA).Lee Jung-bae will become the 12th chairman of the association, starting in March until February 2022, unless there are objections.Lee, a graduate of Seoul National

Applied Materials is expecting wafer fab equipment investments in 2021 to hit record numbers.Investments into semiconductors recovered in 2020 and this momentum is expected to continue throughout 2021, company CEO Gary Dickerson said at Applied Materials’ conference call for its fiscal first quarter

The recent hike in prices of helium gas is likely to negatively affect the profitability of semiconductor companies.According to the Korea Customs Service on Friday, helium gas import price was US$82,200 per a metric tonne in 2020, a 44% rise from 2019.Helium gas are used as coolers during semicondu

Coasia said on Wednesday had the most number of engineers among its competitors within Samsung Foundry’s ecosystem.The company, combined with its subsidiary Coasia Semi, had 210 engineers, a Coasia spokesperson said.By contrast, Samsung Foundry’s other design house partners Hanatec, Alpha Holdings,

Chips&Media will launch its new high-resolution video IP product called Wave6 Series in March, TheElec has learned.The first product in the series, called Wave627 (encoder IP), will support AV1 and VVC(H.266) standards.The company will launch Wave637 (codec IP) in August and Wave617 (decoder IP) wit

DS Hi-Metal may face difficulty in procuring raw material due to the military coup at Myanmar.The company is the world’s second largest solder ball maker. It set up its subsidiary DS Myanmar at Yangon on June 2019 through a 100% direct investment to procure tins used to make solder balls. A DS Hi-Me

Silfex, Lam Research’s subsidiary in South Korea, is facing problems with producing silicon (Si) rings, TheElec has learned.This is due to the COVID-19 pandemic that is preventing production staff from going to work normally.Lam Research was considering procuring Si rings from Hana Materials as an a