National Fusion Research Institute (Director Yoo Seok-jae) along with a small and medium company succeed in localizing coating material for semiconductor process that is imported from Japan. This is the first example of a government-funding research institute collaborating with a private company to localize a material or a part and find a countermeasure against Japanese Government’s regulation.
National Fusion Research Institute (NFRI) stated that it has continued to work on R&D with Sewon Hardfacing (CEO Kwak Chan-won), which is a company that specializes in thermal spray coating and received plasma technology that can improve liquidity of powder for thermal spray coating from NFI, and it recently developed Y2O3 (Yttrium Oxide) that is a material used for thermal spray coating and does not coagulate even if it is in a form of fine powder.
Y2O3 is a material used for semiconductor manufacturing process equipment and it is imported from Japan.
Y2O3 developed by NFRI and Sweon Hardfacing is based on plasma technology that causes repelling power between powder and it is able to form more even and finer coating film. Plasma technology also greatly improves liquidity of thermal spraying powder especially under the size of 25 micrometers and makes high-quality thermal spray coating using fine powder possible.
Thermal spray coating is coating technology that spray a material in a powder form onto semiconductors, cars, and electronic parts. In the past, it was difficult to create fine coating film as the size of powder becomes smaller as powder coagulated when it was sprayed. Size of the powder that is imported from Japan is 35 micrometers.
Sewon Hardfacing finished verifying quality and credibility of its products with various coating companies and it is planning to supply its products to South Korean semiconductor companies shortly.
“This is the first time that a government-funded research institute collaborated with a private company and found a way to counter Japanese Government’s regulation.” said Director Yoo Seok-jae of NFRI. “Because plasma technology is responsible for about 80% of semiconductor manufacturing process, we are going to actively support South Korean companies with localizing semiconductor equipment and materials.”
Staff Reporter Kim, Soonki | soonkkim@etnews.com