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Merck, the German supplier of semiconductor materials, is building a production base in South Korea for new materials used in next-generation memory chips. With the spread of artificial intelligence driving demand for materials that improve chip performance and power efficiency, the company is moving to manufacture directly in Korea, home to major memory makers including Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS). Merck plans to start with NAND flash and expand supply to DRAM and advanced system chips.
Benjamin Hein, chief executive of Merck Electronics, highlighted the importance of the Korean market at a press briefing in Seoul's Samseong-dong on the 21st. "Korea is one of the world's top three markets not only in chip manufacturing but also in materials," he said.
Hein, who took office in May, made his first visit to Korea since his appointment to attend the opening ceremony on the 22nd for a molybdenum precursor production facility at the company's site in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province. During the trip he also met with executives at major customers including Samsung Electronics, according to sources.
Molybdenum is a metal used in the wiring that carries electrical signals inside a chip. As circuits shrink, conventional copper or tungsten wiring can suffer from rising electrical resistance. Molybdenum is drawing attention as an alternative that addresses those limits and can improve a chip's operating speed and power efficiency.
Merck is first targeting the market for three-dimensional NAND flash. The approach applies molybdenum to the wiring that carries electrical signals as data-storage cells are stacked in hundreds of layers, replacing tungsten.
"As chip structures become finer, the electrical properties of existing materials run into limits," said Bing Han, senior vice president of Merck's thin film materials business. "Going forward, applications will expand into more areas, including DRAM and logic chips." How far the new material replaces existing ones will depend on the technical benefits in each process step and on customer qualification results.
Merck will also supply, from within Korea, the delivery systems that feed the materials into chipmaking equipment. Molybdenum precursors produced in Eumseong will be paired with delivery units manufactured in Ansan. The system is designed to raise material utilization above 99%, which is expected to help reduce costs for chipmakers.
Merck aims to develop Korea into a core hub in its supply chain for next-generation chip materials. Under a 600 million euro investment plan announced in 2021, the company has been expanding production facilities and research and development capacity in the country.
"AI is increasing both the complexity and the pace of innovation in the chip industry," Hein said. "Going forward, what will matter is integrated solutions that combine materials, equipment and inspection technology, beyond advances in individual materials."