ACM Research has set out to target the Southeast Asian market by supplying a 300mm single-wafer cleaning system to the production line of a multinational foundry customer in Singapore. This supply marks ACM's first delivery to a semiconductor fab in Singapore and is noteworthy as it demonstrates that the company's strategy to support overseas production bases has led to an actual equipment supply.

ACM Research disclosed this fact on March 31. According to the company, the equipment has been installed in a customer's front-end wafer fab production line in Singapore and is designed to support wafer back-side cleaning and wet etching processes required in advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes.

The system supplied this time focuses on the stability of the wafer back-side processing. It utilizes nitrogen-protected handling technology based on a Bernoulli chuck to ensure more stable wafer handling during the process, and is configured to enhance cleaning and etching uniformity by combining two nitrogen-based fluid cleaning technologies with a nozzle scanning structure.

Features designed for operational efficiency have also been included. The equipment incorporates a chemical recycling function to help reduce process operating costs. Furthermore, it is characterized by its ability to be applied to various wet etching processes, including thin film processes as well as silicon processes, thereby expanding the scope of application for a single piece of equipment.

ACM explained that the system's core process technology has undergone international verification procedures and was designed to meet the performance, yield, and reliability standards required by global semiconductor manufacturers. The company maintains that through this, it has demonstrated its equipment supply capabilities to meet the production capacity expansion of client companies across different regions.

Singapore is considered a semiconductor production hub connecting various markets, including Asia. The industry interprets this supply as a signal that ACM has fully established a foothold in Southeast Asia, going beyond a single equipment delivery. This is because, amidst the trend of semiconductor supply chains being reorganized by region, local responsiveness and customized support systems for customers are emerging as key factors in securing orders.