Yesty Begins Practical Design for 'High-Pressure Annealing Equipment National Project' as Sole Selected Company

YESTI, a semiconductor equipment specialist company, announced on the 8th that it has entered the practical design phase for the development of the 'next-generation high-pressure annealing' equipment, a national project for which it was exclusively selected through competition with rivals. Starting from this design work, commercialization for not only the next-generation high-pressure annealing equipment but also existing global companies is expected to accelerate.

The next-generation annealing equipment will involve demand companies that will use the equipment based on commercialization, allowing the design to reflect equipment performance and development specifications to maximize development speed. YESTI was previously selected as the final developer for the advanced high-pressure annealing equipment national project by competing with existing annealing equipment manufacturers. The R&D budget amounts to 7 billion KRW, and the national project proceeds in the order of ▲design of next-generation high-pressure annealing equipment ▲mass production equipment manufacturing ▲process evaluation after equipment installation ▲purchase agreement after final evaluation.

Since this national project is promoted based on commercialization, YESTI plans to proceed with the design by reflecting the performance and specifications of the equipment proposed by demand companies as much as possible. Researchers from POSTECH and Hanyang University are also participating as key technical personnel, aiming to develop more advanced high-pressure annealing equipment and increase process utilization.

High-pressure annealing equipment is a core device used in the annealing process that removes defects on semiconductor surfaces through high-pressure hydrogen and deuterium, improving semiconductor yield. Based on thermal pressure control technology, YESTI has been developing high-pressure annealing equipment since 2021. Recently, it successfully completed the alpha test of its self-developed high-pressure annealing equipment and is preparing for the beta test for process application.

YESTI's high-pressure annealing equipment has a wider applicable temperature and pressure range than existing equipment, offering excellent process scalability, and has localized the core pressure chamber to enhance price competitiveness. Increasing batch size improves productivity, and applying high-efficiency heater technology reduces carbon emissions during semiconductor production, which is a strong advantage.

A YESTI official said, "To develop next-generation high-pressure annealing equipment and achieve rapid commercialization, we plan to reflect the requirements as much as possible through close communication with demand companies," adding, "Since this is a national project based on the purchase by demand companies, we believe there will be no issues in process application and dissemination upon successful project completion."

He continued, "Separately from the national project, we will accelerate related tests to quickly commercialize the high-pressure annealing equipment currently under self-development through process stage verification procedures."