Hyosung Chemical is expanding its production capacity by 2,000 tons to meet increasing demand for nitrogen trifluoride (NF3).

Hyosung Chemical announced on the 8th through a public notice that it will expand its NF3 production capacity. The investment amount is 119.861 billion won, representing 29.79% of its equity capital.

The planned expansion site is the Oksan plant, and the expansion volume is 2,000 tons. When the expansion is completed, the total production volume will be 8,000 tons, combined with the existing 6,000 tons.

Regarding this expansion, a Hyosung Chemical official stated that the expansion was due to increased demand for NF3.

Meanwhile, NF3 is used to clean the inside of a wafer by reacting with impurities such as silicon dioxide (SiO2) or silicon nitride (SiN4) remaining after a thin film is deposited on the wafer in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber in the semiconductor production process, and turning it into silicon tetrafluoride (SiF4).

In Korea, Hyosung Chemical, SK Materials, and Versum Materials are producing it, and demand is continuously increasing due to the recent aggressive expansion of semiconductor companies.