Semiconductors Aren’t Made Alone… “Materials, Parts, and Equipment” Are Essential. ① Who Are the Representative Equipment Companies?

Let’s review what we covered last time. HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) made by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix goes into Nvidia’s AI GPUs. Nvidia’s AI GPUs are needed in hyperscalers’ data centers. As hyperscalers increase their investment in AI, demand for HBM from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix rises, and both companies’ earnings grow. In other words, the memory semiconductor supercycle follows the structure of “Samsung Electronics · SK hynix → Nvidia → hyperscalers.”

But beneath Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, there are numerous other companies connected. These are the so-called “materials, parts, and equipment” companies, or “MPE (SoBuJang in Korean).” They supply the materials, parts, and equipment needed to produce HBM. Let’s look at an example. As mentioned before, HBM is made by stacking multiple DRAM chips. Obviously, you can’t just stack DRAM like Lego blocks and call it HBM. You need to press them together using equipment called a “bonder” (Bonder comes from the word “bond,” meaning to bind together). Between the DRAM layers, TSVs (Through-Silicon Vias) act like elevators, allowing electrical signals to move efficiently between layers.

The most widely used bonder today is the TC bonder. TC stands for Thermo (heat) and Compression. In other words, it applies heat to the micro bumps (tiny metal protrusions) on DRAM to press them together. In Korea, companies that manufacture TC bonders include Hanmi Semiconductor and Hanwha Semitech. Up to the current mainstream HBM product, 6th-generation HBM4 (12–16 layers), can be handled with TC bonders.

The problem is that as you try to stack more layers, a physical limit emerges where further compression is no longer possible. That’s why, starting from HBM5, Wide TC bonders and hybrid bonders are introduced. Wide TC bonders still use metal bumps but expand the die area to improve heat and bandwidth issues. Hybrid bonders, on the other hand, eliminate metal bumps entirely and directly bond copper pads. Both Hanmi Semiconductor and Hanwha Semitech are moving beyond TC bonders to develop Wide TC and hybrid bonders. In fact, there are quite a few interesting rivalries in this bonder business.

Until now, the TC bonder market was almost monopolized by Hanmi Semiconductor. In particular, SK hynix, which is ahead of Samsung Electronics in HBM, purchased many of Hanmi’s bonders. However, Samsung Electronics does not use Hanmi Semiconductor’s bonders. In the past, Hanmi Semiconductor filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung Electronics, and the relationship between the two has been strained ever since. Recently, conflicts between Hanmi Semiconductor and Hanwha Semitech have also intensified. Both sides are engaged in mutual lawsuits, claiming that the other’s TC bonder infringes on their patents. This was triggered by SK hynix deciding to use Hanwha Semitech’s bonders as well. For those interested, you can look into the details on your own.

TC bonders belong to the later stage of semiconductor manufacturing, that is, the back-end process. This is because they are used to stack DRAM chips that are already largely fabricated. On the other hand, there are also technologies required in the earlier stage, the front-end process. A representative example is “deposition,” a process in which extremely thin films (thin layers) are formed on a wafer.

A wafer is the fundamental material of all semiconductors, a silicon substrate. It is made by extracting silicon from sand, melting it, and slicing it into thin discs. You’ve probably seen those round, rainbow-colored plates on the news—that’s a wafer. The wafer is then cut like a honeycomb, and each small square piece becomes an individual semiconductor chip.

In this process, deposition refers to repeatedly forming layers on the wafer—laying down insulating films, stacking metal layers, and adding protective layers. Only after forming these thin films through deposition can the wafer go through lithography and etching processes to complete semiconductor circuits. Representative deposition equipment companies include Wonik IPS, Jusung Engineering, and Eugene Technology.

There are also companies that make systems designed to ensure semiconductor manufacturing equipment receives specialty liquids and gases in a stable manner. These are essentially “equipment suppliers for the equipment makers.” One representative example is HM Nex

The company originally produced automotive and lighting LEDs, but recently drew attention in the semiconductor equipment industry after acquiring SMI.

SMI manufactures Liquid Delivery Systems (LDS) for deposition materials, as well as heat jackets, which are high-temperature control devices. In semiconductor fabrication plants, major production equipment typically receives the liquids and gases needed for processing from small storage tanks. When these liquids or gases run low, the tanks must be replaced. During the replacement process, the equipment often has to stop operating, leading to lower productivity and higher costs.

LDS is a system that continuously supplies chemicals through an external supply line even while tanks are being replaced. This allows chemical supply tanks to be exchanged without shutting down the main equipment, improving process efficiency and minimizing downtime.

Heat jackets can be thought of as a kind of “coat” wrapped around the vacuum piping of semiconductor equipment. They maintain a constant temperature for fluids and vapors inside the pipes, preventing process byproducts from condensing or clumping together. As a result, equipment damage is reduced while operational efficiency improves.

There really are all kinds of companies in this industry. The world of semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment is so vast that it’s impossible to cover everything. I certainly don’t know dozens upon dozens of companies myself, either. We’ve covered enough of the equipment side for now, so next let’s move on to the “parts” segment of the semiconductor supply chain.