SK hynix Reportedly Starts Equipment Orders for Yongin Y1 Fab, Targets Trial Production by February Next Year

According to a report by ZDNET, SK hynix has begun placing orders for advanced DRAM manufacturing equipment for Y1, the first wafer fab at the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster. The initial production scale under discussion is 20,000 wafers per month, with the goal of manufacturing sixth-generation 10-nanometer-class (1c) DRAM. The first clean room (ph1) at Y1 was originally scheduled to commence operations in May next year, but the timeline has now been advanced, with the trial production line build set to begin in February next year, followed by full-scale equipment installation starting around March to April to ramp up capacity to 20,000 wafers per month. Industry insiders revealed that SK Hynix will begin clean room construction for Y1 ph2 and ph3 in the second half of this year, with an overall highly compressed schedule. It is understood that the Yongin cluster comprises four wafer fabs, with total construction investment reaching 600 trillion Korean won. The fourth fab originally scheduled for completion in 2045 has moved its target completion date forward to 2033.