Germany’s Merck plans to manufacture semiconductor materials in South Korea

23. June 2022 German company Merck plans to manufacture chemical mechanical polishing paste (CMP) in South Korea. Quality tests are currently underway with the CMP for customers in South Korea. Merck expects to begin shipments in the first half of 2022. CMP is a material used to polish and even semiconductor wafers. To do so, it is applied between the wafer and a rotating abrasive pad. Merck has previously built a CMP production facility in Pyeongteak, Gyeonggi Province. The research and development center and factory are located at the Korea Advanced Technology Center (K-ATeC), which opened in 2020. Equipment used in production facilities for such product categories in many cases requires KC certification to be approved in Korea.     The composition of CMP depends on the specific customer. Therefore, there is a trend to develop this material locally together with the customer and also to manufacture it there. This also allows changes in composition to be implemented more quickly. Meanwhile, Japan’s Showa Denko has also started up a CMP factory in South Korea. Experts therefore expect increasing competition between foreign companies and domestic firms such as Dongjin Semichem and KCTech. Merck also plans to produce so-called EUV rinse solution in South Korea. After exposure to extremely strong ultraviolet light (EUV), the residues are removed with this rinse solution. This requires a significantly different composition than the process using other light sources such as argon fluoride (ArF). Versum Materials, which Merck acquired in 2019, is also strengthening its presence in the Korean semiconductor market. Versum Materials supplies components with double patterning technology (DPT) to Samsung Electronics and other manufacturers. DPT prevents damage to semiconductors during microcircuit production. Samsung Electronics uses Versum Materials’ solution for about half of its production of DPT components. Feel free to contact us any time if you need assistance or have any questions regarding Korean certifications like KC, KC EMC, KCs, KCs for explosion safety products or KGS factory registration. Tel. Europe: +49-69-271 37 69 261 Tel. US: +1 773 654-2673 Email: info@korea-certification.com Urgent questions? Please do not hesitate to contact us via chat. You will find the chat window at the bottom right of each page (if this is not visible, please check your browser settings). For more information you can download our free brochure “Korea Certification Made Easy – The Booklet“.