Korea, U.S. collaborate on advanced fab R&D

[Courtesy of The Ministry of Science and ICT]

South Korea and the United States have joined hands to collaborate on advanced fab research and development (R&D).

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on Thursday, Korea’s National Nanofab Center signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with U.S.-based NY CREATES for technical cooperation for the Global Advanced Fab Linkage Project for Semiconductors.

“This agreement is a follow-up to the discussions on the need for technology exchange in the semiconductor sector during Korea-U.S. summits and the meetings of the Korea-U.S. Joint Committee for Science and Technology,” the ministry said.

NY CREATES was established when the state of New York absorbed SEMATECH, a nonprofit R&D consortium that led semiconductor technology development in the United States. It uses a 300-millimeter semiconductor research infrastructure to support technology development and workforce training for International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) and others.

The ministry will support joint R&D, material/component/equipment demonstrations, and personnel exchanges through the public fabs in the two countries.

The signing ceremony was followed by a Korea-U.S. semiconductor testbed promotion conference, which was attended by about 200 participants from Korean research institutions and companies involved in materials, components, and equipment.

Business meetings were also held to establish collaborative partnerships between NY CREATES and Korean companies and research institutions.