'100% Nissan' Domestic Production of Eco-Friendly Gold Plating Solution for Semiconductor Manufacturing

6 Organizations Including the Korea Institute of Materials Science

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The eco-friendly gold plating solution, which currently relies 100% on Japanese imports as a core semiconductor material, is expected to be domestically produced soon.

The Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) announced on the 8th that it is developing a cyanide-free gold bump material and plating process technology for semiconductor device bonding processes in collaboration with LT Metal Co., Ltd., Kyungpook National University, Andong National University, Hanyang University, and STECO. This technology development project has been selected for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s Materials and Components Technology Development Project (Package Type) and will receive government support for one and a half years until December next year.

Currently, gold plating processes for PCBs and connectors mainly use cyanide, known as hydrocyanic acid. However, due to environmental concerns, the need to develop cyanide-free gold plating solutions has emerged. Gold plating solutions containing cyanide are classified as hazardous and toxic substances and have a significant negative impact on the environment. However, the current market for cyanide-free gold bump plating solutions is entirely dominated by Japanese products, and there has been no domestic development or mass production.

Recognizing this issue in June last year, KIMS began discussions on localization with LT Metal Co., Ltd. LT Metal has established infrastructure for manufacturing gold plating solutions and evaluating plating solutions, enabling rapid evaluation and performance testing of developed plating chemicals. In particular, sodium gold sulfite (Na3Au(SO3)2), used in the eco-friendly cyanide-free gold plating process, is a highly advanced technology mass-produced by only three companies worldwide: Japanese companies EEJA and Metalor, and the domestic company LT Metal.

These six institutions will collaborate on research and development to ▲ develop cyanide-free gold bump plating solutions, ▲ develop plating process technology, ▲ develop gold bump bonding processes, ▲ develop reliability evaluation technology, and ▲ develop next-generation technologies.

The localization of cyanide-free gold bump plating solutions is related not only to upstream industries such as TV, mobile, and automotive display panels but also to downstream industries including machinery, materials, and electronics industries. It is expected to have a significant ripple effect on future key growth industries centered on 3D high-integration semiconductors, as well as major current industrial sectors.

Lee Jeong-hwan, Director of KIMS, said, “Cyanide-free gold bump plating solutions are receiving great attention as materials that can replace environmentally harmful substances,” adding, “We will closely cooperate to achieve our goals quickly by simultaneously realizing environmentally friendly and social values, including establishing an export base overseas.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.