In the field of semiconductor production, South Korea’s Samsung is definitely one of the giants. However, the giants are sometimes restricted by others. Among them, the photoresist material used in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography process has always been one of the giant’s “shortcomings”. Once in 2019, the production line was stalled after being restricted by Japanese companies.

In order to get rid of this limitation, according to foreign media, Samsung SDI is currently developing photoresist for its research center, introducing 8-inch wafer lithography and coating development equipment, which also means that Samsung has finally begun to move towards lithography. Glue materials have been conquered and developed.

According to Korean media, Samsung SDI’s development of semiconductor photoresist will have a major impact on South Korea’s continued advancement of the localization of materials.

In fact, in Korea, photoresist suppliers such as Dongjin Semichem and SK Materials Performance have been working hard for localized production. However, many industry experts pointed out that South Korea needs to invest more capital and labor costs to become the center of core semiconductor materials.

Industry analysts pointed out that if Samsung SDI enters the field and mass-produces photoresist, it will greatly enhance South Korea’s semiconductor materials research infrastructure.

But Samsung SDI did not disclose the start and completion time of the photoresist development plan. The company only stated that after the completion of photoresist development, it will not only provide new products to Samsung Electronics, but also supply other semiconductor companies and companies that use photoresist. An executive of Samsung SDI said, “We have been developing various types of photoresist, including EUV photoresist.” However, the commercialization time and specific details of the photoresist have not yet been finalized.

In fact, friends who are familiar with the semiconductor industry know that the first-mover advantage and industry leadership of Japanese companies are almost irreversible in terms of semiconductor manufacturing materials and processes. After all, almost all of the founding companies of many semiconductor processes represented by Micro SD(TF) are from Japan.