Display Producers Use Homemade Etching Gas
LG Display has finished tests on domestically produced high-purity hydrogen fluoride and begun to apply it to its production process. The company did that one month earlier than originally expected.
LG Display has recently completed the final test of high-purity hydrogen fluoride supplied by a Korean company and begun to use it in the production lines, industry sources said on Sep. 1. The homemade hydrogen fluoride met requirements in terms of yield and cost. LG Display has reportedly applied the Korean products to the production lines for flagship panels such as organic light emitting diodes (OLED) panels.
Samsung Display is also expected to finish tests of domestically produced high-purity hydrogen fluoride within September. Given that no critical problems have been found to date, the local product is likely to be used for volume production immediately after the final test. Previously, Samsung Display used hydrogen fluoride from Japanese and Korean material companies. It has been conducting various tests for hydrogen fluoride localization even before Japan's economic retaliation.
Unlike semiconductor production lines that use nanometer-level processes, display panel production do not need ultra-high-purity hydrogen fluoride with a purity of 99.9999999999 percent. Hydrogen fluoride is mainly used for wet etching to remove defective layers and cleaning to remove organic substances and oxides on surfaces of display panels.
“LG Display said on Aug. 24 that it will take some time to test domestically produced hydrogen fluoride, but it was finished sooner than expected,” an industry official said. “Dependence on Japanese hydrogen fluoride will be considerably lowered, but securing supply of ultra-high-purity hydrogen fluoride is still a problem.”