SK hynix Accelerates Construction of Yongin “Y1” Fab, Begins Equipment Orders SK hynix has begun full-scale preparations for the construction of its new memory production base in Yongin. The company is understood to have recently started placing orders with key suppliers for advanced DRAM manufacturing equipment. The initial investment under discussion is for production capacity of approximately 20,000 wafers per month. According to semiconductor and equipment industry sources on July 14, SK hynix is currently placing equipment orders for its Yongin Y1 fab. Pilot Production Line to Be Established in February Next Year as Equipment Suppliers Step Up Preparations Y1 is the first fab at the large-scale semiconductor cluster that SK hynix is developing in Wonsam-myeon, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The first fab will consist of two structural buildings and six cleanrooms. Construction is currently underway on the first cleanroom, or Phase 1. SK hynix had originally planned to open Y1 Phase 1 in May next year, but has decided to bring the schedule forward slightly to February. In line with the revised timeline, SK hynix is understood to have begun placing orders with several key suppliers for equipment to be installed at Y1 Phase 1. The company plans to begin establishing a pilot production, or “one-pass,” line in February next year. Full-scale equipment installation aimed at expanding production capacity to approximately 20,000 wafers per month is expected to follow immediately in March or April. The targeted product is sixth-generation 10-nanometer-class, or 1c, DRAM. 1c DRAM is the most advanced generation of DRAM currently in commercial production and is used in high-value-added DDR and LPDDR products for AI applications. SK hynix also plans to use 1c DRAM in seventh-generation high-bandwidth memory, HBM4E, which could enter full-scale commercialization as early as next year. Companies that have not yet received equipment orders are also accelerating their preparations. This is because SK hynix is moving forward the schedule for negotiating equipment sales prices ahead of the installations. “SK hynix normally conducted sales price negotiations toward the end of the year, but it has decided to begin the process from the start of the third quarter,” an official from the semiconductor equipment industry said. “This is preliminary work intended to bring equipment into Y1 Phase 1 as quickly as possible.” Meanwhile, SK hynix is reportedly formulating a strategy to accelerate the development of the large-scale Yongin semiconductor cluster in response to current semiconductor supply and demand conditions. The Yongin semiconductor cluster, which will involve a total investment of KRW 600 trillion, will consist of four fabs. The completion of the fourth fab had originally been targeted for 2045, but the company has brought the timeline forward by 12 years to 2033. Another equipment industry official said, “SK hynix is expected to begin constructing the cleanrooms for Y1 Phases 2 and 3 in the second half of this year. Overall, the fab construction schedule is extremely tight.”