Domestic Production of Neon Gas to Start in 2nd Half of This Year

Domestic neon gas production and supply for use in semiconductor manufacturing processes are expected to start in the second half of this year.

“We are preparing to supply our neon gas to semiconductor manufacturers starting from the second half,” TEMC said on Feb. 28. The gas makes up excimer laser gas for semiconductor exposure and its content in the air is as low as 0.00182 percent.

At present, South Korea’s dependence on imported neon gas is 100 percent. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the procurement of noble gases such as neon gas has become a matter of serious concerns for South Korea.

TEMC and POSCO recently built high-purity neon gas production equipment and the annual production capacity of the equipment is approximately 22,000 normal cubic meters, equivalent to 16 percent of the domestic demand. The two companies are also working on other noble gases, including krypton and xenon, for import replacement.

Last year, South Korea’s neon gas imports included 23 percent from Ukraine and 5 percent from Russia. The percentages are 31 percent and 17 percent when it comes to krypton and 18 percent and 31 percent as for xenon.