SK Hynix said on Wednesday that it has successfully used neon gas from local suppliers for 40% of its chip production.
The chip giant said it aims to fully use neon gas resources from South Korea by 2024. SK Hynix until recently relied entirely on imported neon gas, which is used in the lithography process for wafer fabrication.
Neon gas is mixed with other gases to make excimer laser gas, excimer laser is a short-wave infrared laser used to draw circuit patterns on lasers.
But the price of the gas has soared due to global geopolitical issues in recent years, leading South Korean memory chip makers to prepare the material locally.
The company successfully developed neon gas as an alternative source in cooperation with South Korea's TEMC and Posco, which SK Hynix said would enable stable supply and cost savings.
SK Hynix also said it plans to localize the supply of krypton and xenon gas used in the etching process from June next year.
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