SK Hynix said on Wednesday that it has succeeded in using neon gas from local suppliers for 40% of its chip production.
The chip giant said it was aiming to use wholly sources from South Korea for neon gas in 2024.
SK Hynix had up to recently wholly relied on import for neon gas, which is used during the lithography process in wafer fabrication.
Neon gas is mixed with other gases to make excimer laser gas; excimer laser is a short wave infrared lasers use to draw the circuit patterns on the laser.
But due to global geopolitical issues in recent years, the price of the gas was set to spike, causing the South Korean memory chipmaker to prepare the material locally.
It succeeded in developing neon gas with South Korean companies TEMC and Posco as an alternative source, which SK Hynix said allowed it to stabilize supply and save in cost.
Neon gas is extremely rare in the area accounting for only 0.00182%.
SK Hynix also said it plans to localize the supply of krypton and xeon gases used in etching processes starting in June next year.
