SemiVoice

SFA has developed three different kinds of metrology and inspection (MI) machines and has supplied one of them to a major South Korean chipmaker.

The company has supplied a white light interferometry (WLI)-based height measurement machine to the conglomerate and plans to supply four additional units.

Zeus, a South Korean semiconductor equipment manufacturer, reported revenue of 315.7 billion won last year, a 69% increase from 2023, according to its filings on Monday. It also returned to profitability with an operating income of 39.1 billion won. This growth is attributed to Zeus's timely development of cleaners for high-bandwidth memory.

SK Hynix's CEO announced that the company's high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production capacity for this year has already been sold out. Following discussions with a customer, it is also expected that next year's volume or production capacity will be sold out within the first half of this year.

Hanwha Corporation announced on Wednesday that it will fully participate in the rights issue of its subsidiary Hanwha Aerospace, which plans to raise 3.6 trillion won, making it South Korea's largest rights issue to date. Hanwha Corporation holds a 33.95% stake in Aerospace.

DI Corporation’s subsidiary, Digital Frontier, has supplied samples of its wafer inspection kit to SK Hynix for use in the production of HBM4. The equipment is currently undergoing quality testing by the chipmaker, and official orders are expected within three to six months.

SK Hynix is planning to install equipment in its new M15X factory two months ahead of schedule, due to a surge in orders for its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) from customers, particularly Broadcom. The company is also expanding its production capabilities.

Hanwha Semitech announced on Friday that it has entered into a 21 billion won agreement to supply high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production equipment to SK Hynix. The company, previously known as Hanwha Precision Machinery, did not specify the equipment, but it is almost certain to be thermal compression (TC) bonders.

Seojin System, an equipment parts manufacturer, reported its highest earnings ever last year. The company announced on Thursday that it recorded KRW 1.21 trillion in revenue and KRW 108.7 billion in operating profit last year, representing a 56% and 122% increase, respectively, from 2023. Seojin System attributed its growth to its strong sales and operational efficiency.

Lam Research has introduced an atomic layer deposition (ALD) machine named ALTUS Halo, which utilizes molybdenum. The use of molybdenum in this machine reduces resistance by 50% compared to tungsten, ultimately accelerating application speed, according to Tae-Soon Park, Director of Lam Research, during a press conference at Semicon Korea.

Applied Materials demonstrated its new inspection kit SEMVision H20 on Thursday, equipped with the company's second-generation cold fusion emission (CFE) technology, which is three times faster than thermal fusion emission (TFE) equipment for analysis.

YEST has been in discussions with Japanese NAND giant Kioxia to supply high pressure annealing (HPA) equipment. According to a company spokesperson, the talks are aimed at providing HPA equipment for Kioxia's line expansion. YEST's equipment is capable of processing 125 wafers per action, compared to the rival's 75.

Genesem, a fab equipment manufacturer, has supplied a package sorter for the final testing of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) to a South Korean chip-maker. This is Genesem's first deal of this kind with the chip-maker. The sorter is also compatible with HBM inspection equipment that Nvidia requested.

➀ Samsung's top chip executive visited Nvidia's headquarters in the US;

➁ He brought a sample of the company's latest 1b DRAM;

➂ The purpose of the visit was to discuss the potential use of the improved DRAM for HBM.

Nextin, a supplier of equipment for SK Hynix, reported on Friday that it achieved a revenue increase of over 30% and an operating income increase of 32.24% in 2024. Revenue reached 114.82 billion won, and operating income was 47.82 billion won. Nextin attributed the growth to new orders from both domestic and international markets.

Hanwha Precision Machinery is on the verge of officially securing orders from SK Hynix for thermal compression (TC) bonders used in the production of high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Sources indicate that the equipment manufacturer is in the final stages of verification with the chip-maker.

➀ SK Hynix reported record-breaking financial results for the year 2024 with 66.19 trillion won in revenue and 23.46 trillion won in operating income.

➁ The revenue saw a significant year-over-year increase of 102%.

➂ This marked a return to profitability after a tough year for memory chip companies in 2023.

➀ Okins Electronics announced on Wednesday that it will supply Samsung with over 400,000 units of semiconductor test sockets, valued at 6.65 billion won (approximately 11.7% of the company's revenue in 2023).

➁ A spokesperson for Okins Electronics stated that the majority of these sockets will be used for Samsung's production processes.

➂ This contract highlights the strong partnership between Okins Electronics and Samsung in the semiconductor industry.

➀ Philoptics has appointed a former Samsung executive as the head of its fab equipment business.

➁ Im Baek-gyun, who was previously the executive vice president and head of the manufacturing innovation center at Samsung DI, will take on the role of president next month.

➂ This move strengthens Philoptics' position in the semiconductor equipment market.