Executive highlights molybdenum push and Korea investment for 2nm era
Kim Woo-kyu, managing director at Merck Korea, poses during an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Feb. 13. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)
Merck Korea’s top executive sees the semiconductor materials market entering a structural growth phase, driven not only by artificial intelligence but also by emerging fields such as quantum computing and robotics.
“The current driving force of the chip industry is AI growth and high-performance computing,” Kim Woo-kyu, managing director of Merck Korea, said in an interview with The Korea Herald on Feb. 13. “In the coming years, quantum computing and robotics will also require large volumes of chips, including NAND and DRAM.”
As semiconductor manufacturing advances from 14-nanometer nodes to 2-nanometer processes, production complexity is rising sharply. More process steps are required, and performance margins are tightening at atomic scales. That shift is accelerating demand for advanced materials across the entire fabrication cycle, including patterning materials, deposition solutions, diffusion gases and chemical-mechanical planarization slurries.
“There will be growing requests for material upgrades,” Kim said. “It’s not only about introducing new materials, but also about making existing materials perform at much higher levels.”
Molybdenum push for next-generation chips
Against that backdrop, Merck is accelerating the commercialization of molybdenum-based materials for advanced chips.
Molybdenum offers lower electrical resistance than tungsten at the atomic scale, enabling faster signal transmission with reduced power loss. The material is particularly suited for vertically stacked transistor architectures, where maintaining stable signal pathways across densely packed layers is increasingly critical.
Merck’s initial target is NAND flash memory. Once customers gain manufacturing experience and verify performance gains, the company expects molybdenum adoption to expand into logic and DRAM applications, Kim said.
To support this push, Merck will produce molybdenum precursors at its new Eumseong plant, currently under construction. The materials will be delivered through the company’s ChemKeeper system, which is designed to improve material utilization and lower production costs.
The Eumseong line forms part of Merck’s 600 million euro investment in Korea announced in 2021, aimed at expanding semiconductor materials capacity and strengthening local supply.
Korea as strategic base
Merck operates its second-largest concentration of manufacturing and R&D facilities in Korea after the US, underscoring the country’s strategic importance. Korea is home to memory chip leaders such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, making it a critical market for advanced materials.
Given Korea’s limited natural resources and heavy dependence on imported inputs, geopolitical tensions have amplified supply chain risks. In response, Merck has adopted what it calls a “for the region, in the region” strategy, building local production capacity to reduce exposure to cross-border disruptions.
“It is difficult to predict geopolitical disruptions, with countries imposing unexpected trade restrictions,” Kim said. “We aim to manage that risk through a local-to-local strategy to support customers in close proximity.”
Industry forecasts now suggest the global semiconductor market — including chips, equipment, materials and services — could reach $1 trillion as early as this year, ahead of earlier projections for 2028.
On rising material costs and supply chain pressures linked to geopolitical tensions and tariff measures under the Trump administration, Kim said Merck has secured multiple supply sources to ensure business continuity despite increasing cost burdens.
As chip architectures become more complex and process nodes shrink, Kim expects demand for high-performance materials to intensify.
“In advanced nodes, materials are no longer secondary components,” he said. “They are becoming decisive factors in determining chip performance and efficiency.”
www.koreaherald.com
Kim Woo-kyu, managing director at Merck Korea, poses during an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Feb. 13. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)
Merck Korea’s top executive sees the semiconductor materials market entering a structural growth phase, driven not only by artificial intelligence but also by emerging fields such as quantum computing and robotics.
“The current driving force of the chip industry is AI growth and high-performance computing,” Kim Woo-kyu, managing director of Merck Korea, said in an interview with The Korea Herald on Feb. 13. “In the coming years, quantum computing and robotics will also require large volumes of chips, including NAND and DRAM.”
As semiconductor manufacturing advances from 14-nanometer nodes to 2-nanometer processes, production complexity is rising sharply. More process steps are required, and performance margins are tightening at atomic scales. That shift is accelerating demand for advanced materials across the entire fabrication cycle, including patterning materials, deposition solutions, diffusion gases and chemical-mechanical planarization slurries.
“There will be growing requests for material upgrades,” Kim said. “It’s not only about introducing new materials, but also about making existing materials perform at much higher levels.”
Molybdenum push for next-generation chips
Against that backdrop, Merck is accelerating the commercialization of molybdenum-based materials for advanced chips.
Molybdenum offers lower electrical resistance than tungsten at the atomic scale, enabling faster signal transmission with reduced power loss. The material is particularly suited for vertically stacked transistor architectures, where maintaining stable signal pathways across densely packed layers is increasingly critical.
Merck’s initial target is NAND flash memory. Once customers gain manufacturing experience and verify performance gains, the company expects molybdenum adoption to expand into logic and DRAM applications, Kim said.
To support this push, Merck will produce molybdenum precursors at its new Eumseong plant, currently under construction. The materials will be delivered through the company’s ChemKeeper system, which is designed to improve material utilization and lower production costs.
The Eumseong line forms part of Merck’s 600 million euro investment in Korea announced in 2021, aimed at expanding semiconductor materials capacity and strengthening local supply.
Korea as strategic base
Merck operates its second-largest concentration of manufacturing and R&D facilities in Korea after the US, underscoring the country’s strategic importance. Korea is home to memory chip leaders such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, making it a critical market for advanced materials.
Given Korea’s limited natural resources and heavy dependence on imported inputs, geopolitical tensions have amplified supply chain risks. In response, Merck has adopted what it calls a “for the region, in the region” strategy, building local production capacity to reduce exposure to cross-border disruptions.
“It is difficult to predict geopolitical disruptions, with countries imposing unexpected trade restrictions,” Kim said. “We aim to manage that risk through a local-to-local strategy to support customers in close proximity.”
Industry forecasts now suggest the global semiconductor market — including chips, equipment, materials and services — could reach $1 trillion as early as this year, ahead of earlier projections for 2028.
On rising material costs and supply chain pressures linked to geopolitical tensions and tariff measures under the Trump administration, Kim said Merck has secured multiple supply sources to ensure business continuity despite increasing cost burdens.
As chip architectures become more complex and process nodes shrink, Kim expects demand for high-performance materials to intensify.
“In advanced nodes, materials are no longer secondary components,” he said. “They are becoming decisive factors in determining chip performance and efficiency.”
Chip complexity to fuel materials surge, says Merck Korea chief
Merck Korea’s top executive sees the semiconductor materials market entering a structural growth phase, driven not only by artificial intelligence but also by e
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