Yesty, a semiconductor equipment specialist company, announced on the 20th that it is in discussions to supply high-pressure annealing equipment capable of processing 125 wafers per batch to an overseas NAND flash specialist company. Currently, discussions are underway at the working level, and the global semiconductor company has expressed strong interest in Yesty's high-pressure annealing equipment that can process 125 wafers at once.
Existing high-pressure annealing equipment can process up to 75 semiconductor wafers per batch. Yesty has developed the world's first high-pressure annealing equipment capable of processing 125 wafers simultaneously by utilizing its proprietary high-temperature and high-pressure technology. This equipment can improve the productivity of semiconductor wafers by approximately 60%.
Based on about 24 years of experience, Yesty has produced and supplied various equipment using 'pressure chambers,' such as △autoclaves △wafer pressing equipment △PCO. Leveraging references from global semiconductor companies, Yesty has internalized the core technology of high-pressure annealing equipment, the 'pressure chamber,' and has received evaluations from clients praising its excellent stability.
Yesty is already conducting commercialization tests of high-pressure annealing equipment with two global semiconductor companies. It is expected that inline evaluation for mass production of the high-pressure annealing equipment will begin as early as the second half of this year. The company explained that very positive evaluations have been received during working-level discussions with the global NAND flash company, raising expectations for satisfactory results soon.
High-pressure annealing equipment is a key device used to enhance the reliability of wafers in semiconductor miniaturization processes. This equipment improves electrical characteristics by replacing defects on the semiconductor wafer surface with high-pressure hydrogen and deuterium. While the annealing process has been applied in the foundry logic sector, its application is recently expanding into the DRAM and NAND flash fields.
Yesty is also focusing its R&D capabilities on advancing high-pressure annealing technology. Since last year, it has been carrying out national projects for developing next-generation high-pressure annealing equipment in collaboration with Hanyang University, Pohang University of Science and Technology, and others. In addition to strengthening its own research capabilities, Yesty is cooperating with renowned domestic and international research institutions to expand the application of high-pressure annealing technology.
A Yesty representative said, “Recently, global semiconductor companies such as TSMC, Samsung Electronics, and Micron are making aggressive investments supported by the U.S. government. The annealing process is a key process for semiconductor miniaturization and yield improvement, and there is a very high possibility that global semiconductor companies will adopt it when expanding overseas.”
He added, “Compared to existing equipment, Yesty’s high-pressure annealing equipment is not only easier to maintain but also provides uniform annealing effects per batch and, above all, has the advantage of dramatically increasing productivity, which has led to continuous love calls from global semiconductor companies.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
