[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Youngchang Chemical is showing strong performance. The news that it is about to develop the first rinse for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) semiconductor lithography process by a domestic company appears to be influencing its stock price.
As of 9:15 AM on the 12th, Youngchang Chemical is trading at 14,700 KRW, up 6.14% from the previous day.
Youngchang Chemical is a specialized company in ultra-precision industrial chemical materials for semiconductors and displays, and it was listed on the KOSDAQ market in July this year. The company has entered the final testing phase for this process. It explained that it plans to complete prototype process testing within the year, start full-scale commercial production, and enter the global market.
The development of the EUV semiconductor lithography rinse by Youngchang Chemical is the first case among domestic companies and is a product in fierce commercialization competition with German company M. Youngchang Chemical is promoting investment and expansion of production facilities to expand overseas markets and secure early market dominance. The company expects continuous sales growth and profitability improvement after commercialization.
The "EUV semiconductor lithography rinse" is a functional cleaning agent that reduces defects or collapse of the lithography pattern after the photoresist (PR) wafer lithography process. It is a product that critically affects semiconductor production yield. Photoresist is a photosensitive material used to form fine circuits on semiconductor wafers and display thin-film transistor surfaces.
EUV has a wavelength 1/14th that of argon fluoride (ArF) light sources, enabling the production of fine patterns at the 1-nanometer (nm) level and increasing productivity by reducing the number of process steps. The EUV semiconductor process is expected to be a core process in the semiconductor industry for the next decade. Accordingly, the company forecasts that the market for EUV semiconductor lithography rinse, as a key material in this process, will continue to expand.
A Youngchang Chemical official explained, "In fact, global monopoly company A for EUV lithography equipment supplied 42 units last year, and it is expected to increase to 55 units this year and 60 units next year."
He added, "The expansion of EUV lithography equipment leads to increased demand for EUV lithography rinse. Youngchang Chemical expects to continue expanding sales starting from initial sales this year."
Youngchang Chemical recorded sales of 20.534 billion KRW and operating profit of 1.65 billion KRW on a separate basis in the second quarter of this year. Compared to the same period last year, sales and operating profit increased by 32.3% and 129.7%, respectively.
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