Global science and technology company Merck has opened the Korea Advanced Technology Center in Songtan Industrial Complex in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, the company said Tuesday.

“K-ATeC,” according to Merck, is a state-of-the-art facility that supports research and development for chemical mechanical polishing slurries as well as for the post-CMP cleaning of cutting-edge semiconductor devices. 

“Korea is an important innovation and production hub for Merck. We have invested more than 35 billion won ($29 million) to complete this technology center and expand our capabilities,” said Anand Nambiar, global head of Semiconductor Materials within Merck performance Materials. 

The new center is anticipated to accelerate business for Merck customers in the region.

The new facility is five stories tall and spans 3,240 square meters. It includes a sampling lab for customer evaluation, a research lab for CMP material design and analysis and a clean room with specialized equipment, such as its CMP wafer polishing system and a wafer defect inspection system.

In addition to the new K-ATeC facility, the Merck site in Pyeongtaek includes a best-in-class manufacturing center for next-generation CMP materials. The site is located in close proximity to the Korean customer base so as to provide local collaboration support and a faster time to market.

“Merck has been present in Korea for 30 years and during this time we have seen the electronics industry flourish. In particular, the semiconductor and display fields are evolving rapidly on a global scale as demand for digital devices and technology grows,” said Glenn Young, managing director of Merck Korea.

Young said that Merck Korea envisions to strategically position itself to accelerate and deliver innovations to the semiconductor industry.

Merck’s Performance Materials business completed acquisition of Versum Materials and Intermolecular in September 2019, after which it launched an integrated customer-centric organization for Semiconductor Solutions.

The company now offers a broad portfolio of solutions across multiple wafer process steps and dimensions. The expertise also extends beyond materials and includes delivery tools, equipment, containers and services.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)