As the debate over the validity of Moore’s Law continues on, The Elec conducted an emailed interview with Ron Kool, the executive vice president of leading semiconductor equipment supplier ASML. Kool will issue a key note at this year’s ASML Tech Talk to be held in Songdo on Aug. 23.The following ar

It looks like China’s TCL is once again following close on South Korea’s heel, this time in the vertical TV business.On Aug. 16, TCL held an event marking the launch of its first vertical TV, the XESS in China’s Guangdong Province. Citing data from Penguin Think Tank, the TCL chief executive said th

HB Technology, a key South Korean supplier for display testing equipment failed to bag a 25 billion-won Chinese bid for supplying display repair equipment, according to China Bidding on Aug. 19.The bidding data portal said HB’s local rival Charm Engineering will be supplying the 61 units of repair e

South Korean semiconductor etching equipment maker APTC will be opening up offices in the US to target the industry heavyweights, according to its CEO last week.“Our Silicon Valley offices will open in October this year,” said Choi Woo-hyoung, head of APTC on Aug. 17. “Our goal is to partner with th

South Korea’s SK Innovation will soon be producing battery modules using the welding technology provided by local supplier Toptec, according to industry sources on Aug. 16.On July 26, Toptec said it was to supplying laser-based welding technology and equipment to SK Battery America, the US battery c

Samsung Display has shut down the operations of some of its production lines for Gen-8 (2200㎜ x 2500㎜) LCDs, according to industry sources on Aug. 13.The move, they said, appears to be a part of the so-called ‘C Project,’ involving a gradual shift towards large-sized TV OLED panels. The purchase ord

A total of 990,000 personal computers were shipped in the second quarter of this year up 4.2% from the same period last year, according to IDC Korea on Aug. 12.Among them, 490,000 were desktops, while the rest were laptops.“Factors are the stable supplies of Intel’s processors, along with the replac

As Apple has apparently decided to go with the same M9 OLED panel material set used in Samsung’s Galaxy series smartphones for its upcoming new iPhone, Samsung SDI won’t be supplying related materials to the California-based company any longer.Samsung SDI had been supplying green host materials (PGH

South Korean semiconductor display equipment maker SFA is looking to supply the Over Head Transport (OHT) equipment for moving semiconductor wafers, which is currently mostly supplied by Japan’s Daifuku Technology.“We have finished building the OHT pilot lines, and have also achieved technology cert

Samsung SDI is looking to reduce its reliance on Japanese suppliers of lithium ion battery separators (LiBS) to prep for more restrictions by Japan against exports to South Korea, according to industry watchers on Aug. 14. During this process, SDI also hopes to cut costs and improve battery quality,

Samsung SDI has successfully turned over a new leaf in its polarizing film (POL) business. Hit by sluggish operation rates and intensifying market competition, the Samsung affiliate had at one time considered undergoing restructuring.But thanks to a combo of positive factors, the firm is now expecte

“Just like ASML started out from a small container box, ASML Korea hopes for our upcoming tech talk to become a stepping stone for the Korean lithography businesses to help them grow and prosper.”These were the words from Kim Young-son, CEO of ASML Korea, who sat down with The Elec ahead of the 2019

Samsung Electronics’ president of the mobile communications business Koh Dong-jin said on Aug. 7 that the tech giant plans to maintain a minimum annual smartphone shipment of 300 million.Koh made the pledge following the launch event for the Galaxy Note 10 in New York City. “Market share is like the

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is visiting Samsung’s major manufacturing facilities to check on the situation in the aftermath of the Japanese government’s latest move to cut South Korea from its whitelist.The decision, coming amid an ongoing trade row between the two countries, is m

Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 10 was fitted with the M9 OLED screen, which was the same as the Galaxy S10 revealed in the first of this year.The South Korean tech giant launched the Note 10 and the Galaxy Note 10+ on Aug. 7, US time. This means there is no big difference in terms of optical specs

Soulbrain’s top executive said the company is considering entering the high-purity hydrogen fluoride gas market at a discussion held in Seoul on Aug. 7 addressing how to cope with Japan’s latest measures to restrict exports of semiconductor and display components to South Korea.“Hydrogen fluoride ga

South Korean battery suppliers are joining the race to land orders for SK Innovation’s electric vehicle (EV) battery-making plant to be built in Jackson Country of Georgia in the US that broke ground in March this year.The factory is scheduled to churn out an annual 9.8GWh worth of batteries, with m

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, said on Aug. 6 it has succeeded in mass producing 250Gb SATA solid state drives (SSD) integrating the company’s 6th-generation (1xx-layer) 256Gb three-bit V-NAND to be supplied to global PC makers.By launching a new generation of V-NAND in j

LG Display is talking with major Chinese TV maker Skyworth on selling open cell OLED panels, according to industry sources.Market watchers had expected the display maker to begin celling open cell panels as it starts running the large-sized OLED plants in China’s Guangzhou. The plant is scheduled to

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and Huawei Technologies’ are both expected to release foldable smartphones next month. But as the specific dates have yet to be set, it looks like the world will have to wait a bit longer to see who’s going to be the first to mass produce the devices.Samsung recentl