The price of neon gas used in wafer fabrication, or semiconductor production, is beginning to drop.The precious gas used in excimer laser gas for lithography at one time saw a price jump of 20 times last year.This was due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which burdened supply chains and customers beg

Samsung is expecting its annual operating profit from semiconductor sales in 2023 to be around 13.1 trillion won, TheElec has learned.This figure was shared with its employees in a note sent to employees on Wednesday explaining their expected bonus payment amounts to be paid in January from their pe

The cost of the new fab Samsung is building in South Korea has increased significantly since the third quarter due to global inflation, TheElec has learned.The cost of building additional facilities and its P3 fab at Pyeongtaek has increased by over 1 trillion won.Samsung C&T, Samsung Engineering, a

Chip gas firm TEMC has won Samsung as a customer for its neon gas, which is used in chip production, TheElec has learned.Neon gas prices have skyrocketed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started.TEMC succeeded in producing the rare gas on its own, allowing Samsung to add them as their supplier tim

Investment in fabless chip companies that design semiconductors continue to drop in South Korea.TheElec talked to multiple sources in the country’s fabless scene __ all voiced their concern that spending in the sector by funds is drying up.A CEO of a local fabless chip firm said that the investment

Samsung’s Mobile Experience (MX) Business has formed an application processor (AP) solution development team within the business, TheElec has learned.The team will be led by executive vice president Choi Won-joon, who was also named the head of MX Development during Samsung’s annual reorganization e

Samsung has begun construction of its new chip foundry fab in Taylor, Texas, TheElec has learned.The tech giant has placed orders for the equipment it needs to build the cleanroom.Samsung has placed orders for the system ceiling material, outdoor air conditioning, and other equipment that it will in

Prices of quartz used in the production of computer chips are expected to increase again, TheElec has learned.Their prices already increased during the earlier part of the year but are expected to increase another 10%.This is because of the increase in raw material prices as well as the unfavorable

South Korean chip foundries are seeing the operation rate of their fabs drop steeply, TheElec has learned.With the exception of Samsung, which is still seeing high demand from advanced nodes, local foundry companies such as DB Hitek, Key Foundry, Magnachip, and SK Hynix System IC are seeing their op

Pellicles used in Arf and Krf processes in wafer fabrication are in short supply.This is because more fabless companies in China are rising daily, while overall demand for the commodity has increased as chipmakers aim to develop new semiconductors.In South Korea, only FST manufactures pellicles and

Wonik Group has acquired a display driver IC (DDI) fabless chip firm only a year old, TheElec has learned.The move is highly unusual as the group has so far focused on mostly material and production equipment for chips and displays.Wonik Holdings, the holding company of the business group, wholly ac

South Korean blank mask manufacturer S&S Tech is planning to install deposition machines used in the production of blank masks for use in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) next month.The installation is the final step ahead of production and the company is planning for commercial mass production to start in

The legal dispute between the City of Dangjin and Ram Technology over the company’s planned hydrogen fluoride factory has started this month.The company had filed an administrative lawsuit against the city after it refused Ram Technology’s plan to build a factory at Dangjin back in August 2021.Hydro

Fab equipment coating and cleaning solution firm Komico is planning to spend at least US$30 million to expand its factory in Austin, Texas, TheElec has learned.The move is done to better react to customer Samsung’s demand there as the tech giant is building a new foundry fab in Taylor.It provides Sa

Chinese display giant CSOT is continuing to postpone the installation of equipment at its T5 factory dedicated to Gen 6 liquid crystal display (LCD) panel production, TheElec has learned.This is despite company chairman Li Dongsheng making a personal visit to South Korea during the summer when he as

Outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) Winpac company recorded 40.5 billion won in revenue during the third quarter, a jump of 76% year-on-year.The company also recorded an operating profit of 1.2 billion won __ a return to black from last year’s operating loss.Winpac CEO Lee Han-gyu told

Fabless chip firm Abov said on Wednesday that it recorded 45.57 billion won in revenue and 5.256 billion won in operating in the third quarter.Revenue dropped 20% from the prior quarter.The company specializes in microcontroller unit (MCU) which was in short supply during the pandemic.Demand surpass

South Korean chipmakers Samsung and SK Hynix are expected to showcase their latest technologies at ISSCC 2023 being held in San Francisco in February of next year.ISSCC, or the International Solid-State Circuits Conference, is called the semiconductor design Olympics by South Korean the chip industr

Fab equipment maker Nextin expects its revenue from China to double this year compared to 2021, its CEO told TheElec.China was accounting for around 70% of the company’s revenue this year, Nextin CEO Tae Hoon Park said in an interview. The company is seeing its revenue from China double this year, P

Qualcomm will continue using multiple foundries to manufacture its chips, one of its executives said on Tuesday.The US chip giant was continuing to collaborate with Samsung Foundry and will use multiple foundries, from the South Korean company, TSMC to GlobalFoundries, depending on their technologic