South Korean smartphone lens companies are struggling to survive in the market as Taiwanese and Chinese rivals have taken over half the supply of lenses to Samsung Electronics.There are rising calls in the local industry for Samsung to take care of the lens supply chain in its own country to avoid a

Fab equipment maker Auros Technology has signed a contract with Samsung Electronics to supply 2.2 billion won worth of equipment.It will be providing its overlay equipment to the South Korean tech giant, people familiar with the matter said.Overlay kits are used to check whether the circuits are pre

Samsung SDI is reviewing potential ways to secure funding to invest in its battery business.It is reviewing the possibility of splitting off the battery business, called Energy Solution business by the firm.The plan was discussed in a recent meeting between key executives, sources within the company

Apple has requested a sample of fine metal mask (FMM) for application in virtual reality (VR) to APS Holdings, TheElec has learned.Cupertino has requested a sample of the South Korean company’s laser patterning FMM. Apple requested a resolution of 3000ppi (pixels per inch).The iPhone maker wanted th

TSK has lost in its patent lawsuit that saw its patents related to silicon carbide (SiC) ring production invalidated by a South Korean court.DS Techno had earlier filed filed the lawsuit against the company asking the patent court to invalidate the patents.The latest court decision was made in the a

Samsung Electro-Mechanics will be excluded from Apple’s supply chain for folded zoom camera modules for iPhones launching in 2023, TheElec has learned.Folded zoom uses prism to bend the light before it reaches the image sensor __ it is a sort of periscope-like telephoto camera.The technology allows

SK Hynix was supplying its CMOS image sensor (CIS) for Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3, TheElec has learned.The sensor’s model name is HI-1337. SK Hynix began the production of the sensors on its 300mm wafer line last year.It has 1 micrometer pixels, 13MP resolution and supports 2x zoom.SK Hynix has brand

The US Treasury Department said on Monday that the acquisition of Magnachip by a Chinese private equity firm posed "risks to national security", according to a report by Reuters.Wise Road Capital in March agreed to acquire the system chip maker based in South Korea for US$1.4 billion.The deal has be

Samsung Electronics will begin mass production of an 8-layer DDR5 memory late next year, the company said at chip industry conference Hot chips 33 on Monday.It will use its through silicon via (TSV) technology for the 512GB DDR5 memory module.The company had used 4-layer TSV technology for DDR4, mak

Hanwha Corporation has won another order for battery production equipment from Samsung SDI, TheElec has learned.The company will supply electrode equipment for the South Korean battery maker’s factory at Xi’an, China.It is Hanwha’s second deal with Samsung SDI to supply battery production equipment.

CIS said on Tuesday that it has signed a contract to buy 27,942 meter-square of land at Daegu for a new solid electrolyte factory.The space is 1.4 times that of its previous two factories at the same industrial zone.The company plans to build a new factory in the new land by next year.CIS formed a n

Samsung Electronics has narrowed its market share in CMOS image sensors (CIS) with Sony by a few points last year, according to date from research firm Yole Development.The Japanese tech giant held a 40% market share in the sector in 2020, which is 2 points lower than the previous year. During the s

Tesna said on Wednesday that it plans to spend 81.9 billion won to buy additional; equipment to put in its testing facility for CMOS image sensors (CIS) and RF chips.The company is doing so to prepare for more orders to come from customer Samsung.It will buy CIS and RF chip testing equipment that wi

Samsung Display’s OLED etcher suppliers have begun the development of their new dry etchers for Gen 8.5 OLED panels, TheElec has learned.Wonik IPS, ICD and Tokyo Electron will compete to win orders first from the South Korean display panel maker.Samsung Display is considering manufacturing OLED pane

RAM Tech’s plan to build a new hydrogen fluoride plant at Dangjin, South Korea has been denied by the local government.Dangjin’s city hall said on Monday that it has rejected the plan.Local residents have voiced their opposition to the plan.A RAM Tech spokesperson said the company plans to launch a

Lithography equipment used in the back-end process of wafer fabrication will grow thanks to increased demand for CMOS image sensors (CIS) and power management ICs, according to Yole Development.As it becomes increasing difficult for chip makers to shorten the gate length in the front-end process, th

Exicon said on Wednesday that it has completed the development of a new CMOS image sensor (CIS) test equipment, together with Samsung.The equipment are being evaluated by customers, a Exicon spokesperson said.The equipment will likely be commercialized in the fourth quarter, they said.Japan’s Advant

Display glass processing firm Kglass will expand into the foldable ultra-thin glass (UTG) market in China, TheElec has learned.The company will enter the Chinese market via South Korean software firm Softcen.UTG is used as cover windows in foldable phones. More Chinese smartphone companies are begin

LB Semicon said on Friday that it posted 121.6 billion won in sales and 12.6 billion won in operating income during the second quarter this year.It is an increase of 14% and 56.2%, respectively, from a year ago.LB Semicon became Samsung Electronics’ secondary vendor for CMOS image sensor testing las

Display equipment maker Top Engineering said on Tuesday that it is aiming to secure sales between 20 billion won to 30 billion won in the next year or two from its roll-to-roll equipment business.The company is aiming to reduce its reliance on its main display equipment business.Roll-to-roll equipme