[MK] Samsung Electronics is on its way...'We're going to grow the foundry first-class ecosystem.' (Jul 03, 2019)
Samsung Electronics is on its way..."We're going to grow the foundry first-class ecosystem."
○ `Foundry Forum` is booming due to unfavorable export regulations
Consigned production, design partner, etc.
About 500 people are in attendance.
Jeong Eun-seung, head of Samsung Foundry,
"We must overcome the crisis.
Share state-of-the-art fabless technology"Samsung Electronics` semiconductor industry has overcome a crisis. I will overcome any crisis in the future. The journey to the top of the foundry sector will not be easy, but we will grow through difficulties."
Jeong Eun-seung, head of Samsung Electronics' foundry business, made the remarks while 500 people including customers, partners, and semiconductor experts gathered. While the Japanese government has been regulating exports to Korea (pre-authorization system) on materials essential for semiconductor production such as photoresist (PR) and hydrogen fluoride since the 4th, one of Samsung Electronics' top semiconductor executives has declared a strong will to overcome the crisis and to do business.
Samsung Electronics held the "Samsung Foundry Forum 2019 Korea" at the Grand InterContinental Parnas Hotel in Seoul on the 3rd, and Chung gave a keynote speech. "Samsung Electronics has been ranked No. 1 in the industry by starting its business in the barren land of semiconductors and overcoming difficulties," said CEO Jeong. "We will contribute to the development of the system semiconductor industry by activating the cooperative ecosystem from development of design services, manufacturing, and packaging so that South Korean fabless companies can play in various fields including new markets."
Jeong Eun-seung, head of Samsung Electronics' foundry business, made the remarks while 500 people including customers, partners, and semiconductor experts gathered. While the Japanese government has been regulating exports to Korea (pre-authorization system) on materials essential for semiconductor production such as photoresist (PR) and hydrogen fluoride since the 4th, one of Samsung Electronics' top semiconductor executives has declared a strong will to overcome the crisis and to do business.
Samsung Electronics held the "Samsung Foundry Forum 2019 Korea" at the Grand InterContinental Parnas Hotel in Seoul on the 3rd, and Chung gave a keynote speech. "Samsung Electronics has been ranked No. 1 in the industry by starting its business in the barren land of semiconductors and overcoming difficulties," said CEO Jeong. "We will contribute to the development of the system semiconductor industry by activating the cooperative ecosystem from development of design services, manufacturing, and packaging so that South Korean fabless companies can play in various fields including new markets."
In particular, President Jeong said, "It is predicted that growth in new markets such as 5G network and automotive semiconductors will be noticeable depending on the progress of 5G commercialization and 4th Industrial Revolution. Samsung Poundry will provide differentiated technology so that all customers (fabless) can become industry leaders." "We will focus on developing technologies and expand cooperation with our foundry partners to include IP (design asset), EDA (automated design tool), and OSAT (assembly test)."
In addition, Chung delivered a message on the latest situation, wrapping up his keynote speech by saying, "I will surely overcome any crisis and I will give you that faith. The Japanese government has excluded Korea from the preferential treatment of simplifying export procedures regarding PR and hydrogen fluoride. Accordingly, Japanese companies that want to export these products to South Korea from April 4 must obtain prior permission from the Japanese government. In semiconductor manufacturing, there is a no-gloss process that puts a circuit shape on a wafer like a photo, and PR is a liquid that is applied to a wafer to accept light. Hydrogen fluoride is used to clean wafers or engrave circuits. In foundry business, it is a trend to use extreme ultraviolet (EUV) to carry out the exposure process and produce system semiconductors with fine circuit widths. PR applied to the EUV is a high-quality product, with Japan almost monopolizing production. As a result, some predict that if the Japanese government takes extreme measures such as reducing export volume, it could have a negative impact on the foundry and system semiconductor businesses, but Samsung Electronics' foundry chief showed his will to overcome the crisis.
In April, Samsung Electronics announced its goal to invest 133 trillion won by 2030 to achieve global top spot in system semiconductors (mobile AP, image sensor, foundry, etc.) as well as memory (DRAM, NAND). Accordingly, Samsung Electronics is fiercely competing to catch up with Taiwan's TSMC, the world's No. 1 player in the foundry sector. According to TrendForce, a market research firm, TSMC topped the global foundry market with a 49.2 percent share in the second quarter of this year, followed by Samsung Electronics with 18 percent. Although there is still a big gap, Samsung Electronics is pressuring TSMC by showing off its outstanding technology recently. In particular, Samsung Electronics announced in May that it will develop 3-nano products next year and mass-produce them from 2022 that can improve performance by 35 percent and reduce consumption power by 50 percent from 7-nano (one-nm) that started mass production earlier this year. Samsung Electronics is the first company to announce a schedule for development and mass-production of 3-nano chips.
In particular, Samsung Electronics is planning to use GAA (Gate contact on all sides of a circuit) starting from 3nano, compared to the existing pin-pet structure (gate control on three sides of a circuit) up to 4-nano products. In terms of GAA technology, Samsung Electronics is said to have surpassed TSMC by about a year.
At the Foundry Forum, Samsung Electronics introduced its portfolio of foundries including the latest EUV process technology. More than 500 people attended this year's forum, up 40 percent from last year. Samsung's customers, including Telechips, Nextchip, and Magnachip, and partners such as ARM and GAONCHIPS participated, while foreign media such as Bloomberg and Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun also competed for coverage. At the exhibition booth in front of the venue, industry officials gathered in groups to share Samsung's advanced foundry technology trends. "The company has been growing with the development of Samsung's foundry technology," said a representative for Telechips (a domestic fabless company). "Samsung and its customers' efforts and investments will shine in earnest in a few years."
By Reporter Kim Kyu-sik / Reporter Hwang Soon-min
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