HMNEX said on the 8th that its subsidiary SMI localized an optical temperature sensor for the first time in Korea and finally passed the qual test at Micron's Singapore plant.
SMI said it has been conducting tests since Aug. last year by installing optical temperature sensors at Micron's Singapore plant to verify wafer yield and process stability, and received final approval this month. With this approval, the company secured a foothold to supply domestically made optical temperature sensors to global semiconductor mass-production lines.
Monthly usage of optical temperature sensors at Micron's Singapore plant is estimated at around 1,200 units.
SMI projected it will supply more than 10% of monthly usage this year, and that orders will expand to the 50%–60% range from 2027. Actual order intake is expected to begin in the first quarter of this year.
An optical temperature sensor is a precision sensor that measures temperature by using changes in the properties of light instead of electrical signals inside a semiconductor plasma etching process chamber. Because it uses optical fiber as a medium, it is also called an "optical fiber temperature sensor." After applying a special chemical compound to the sensor tip and irradiating light to filter fluorescent substances, it measures temperature by analyzing changes in the decay time of the fluorescent substances.
Starting with Micron Singapore, SMI plans to expand the application market for optical temperature sensors across global semiconductor corporations.
Key prospective customer groups include SK hynix, Samsung Electronics, Micron (Japan, the United States, Taiwan), TSMC, and China's CXMT, and Micron Japan and China's CXMT are reportedly conducting qual test evaluations.
An SMI official said, "We plan to expand development of customized optical sensor systems into various industrial fields that require high-temperature, high-risk environments, beyond the semiconductor industry."