Samsung Elec reshuffles chip R&D team, chief to fly to Europe on equipment issue

[Photo by Yonhap]

Samsung Electronics has reshuffled its semiconductor research center while its chief is heading out to Europe amid intensifying competition and challenge to its chip leadership.

Jay Y. Lee, vice chair of Samsung Electronics under court probation, has sought agreement from prosecutors to miss court hearings of ongoing merger-related trial for a business trip to Europe next week.

His first stop in Europe is expected to be ASML, a Dutch multinational semiconductor equipment maker and the sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) photolithography machines in the world. EUV photolithography machine is essential in nanometer-scale chip fabrication process.

Samsung Electronics, currently building new chip foundries in Texas, U.S. and in Pyeongtaek, Korea, needs new EUV photolithography machines but like Taiwan’s TSMC and other global chipmakers, the Korean chip giant is having difficulty securing the machines in time, as ASML itself is having production trouble due to shortage of machine components.

Previously in October 2020, Lee visited ASML headquarters in the Netherlands and met with its top executives over equipment order issue. He returned with EUV equipments.

Lee willl likely explore new M&A opportunities in Europe, home to traditional chip giants like Infineon Technologies and STMicroelectronics. Samsung Electronics has a cash hoard of 124 trillion won ($100 billion).

On Thursday, Samsung Electronics has reshuffled its key executives at Semiconductor R&D Center, which leads the development of next-generation chips. Song Jai-hyuk, head of the company’s flash memory products, has been appointed as the new head of Semiconductor R&D Center. The DRAM and NAND flash memory R&D team also has been made as two independent units.

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