LG Display Sources Korean Hydrogen Fluoride After Japan Curbs
09 September, 2019
LG Display plans to source all its hydrogen fluoride from Korean suppliers after Japan imposed restrictions on exports of the chemical to Korea.
At present, LG Display uses both Korean and Japanese-made hydrogen fluoride, which is used as etching gas and cleaning fluid.
It started trial use of Korean-made hydrogen fluoride right after Japan imposed the curbs in early July, and has been able to put it into some production since this month.
An LG Display staffer said, "Once we secure enough volume, our internal goal is to source 100 percent of our hydrogen fluoride needs from Korean suppliers."
The hydrogen fluoride LG Display uses in OLED production has lower purity than the material used to manufacture computer chips, where Japan still has a virtual monopoly, since display panels do not require such ultra-fine processing technology for etching and cleaning.
Chipmakers Samsung and SK Hynix are also trying to find domestic suppliers for high-purity hydrogen fluoride. Early this month, Samsung began using Korean-made hydrogen fluoride, while SK Hynix is testing locally sourced chemicals.