Dow launches global R&D center for electronic materials

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: The Dow Chemical Co. announced the inauguration of its Dow Seoul Technology Center, a global Research & Development (R&D) center with focus on technological advances in display technologies and semiconductor-related applications.

The Dow Seoul Technology Center is located in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do, a strategic and important location to serve semiconductor and display customers. The site is expected to employ approximately 300 people at capacity in a five-story building that spans total floor area of more than 23,700 square meters.

With the addition of the new R&D Center, Dow has invested more than USD$400 million in Korea over the last decade to establish advanced manufacturing sites for semiconductor, display and LED technologies, and to further new business development in the area of electronic materials.

“This investment makes sense. Dow provides best-in-class technologies to enable faster, smaller and more powerful electronics and Korea is a global leader in the electronics market. With our new R&D center, we can deliver even more solutions for the fast-growing electronics industry – better serving our customers in Korea, but worldwide as well,” said Jerome A. Peribere, executive VP of The Dow Chemical Co. and president and CEO of the Dow Advanced Materials Division.

Major areas of research and development at the Dow Seoul Technology Center include lithography, organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), display materials, and advanced chip packaging to support growth. The site will be the global hub for Dow’s OLED research, and Dow has also equipped the site with a Nikon 193 nm immersion scanner and 300 mm tool cluster, which makes Dow Electronic Materials the only photoresist supplier in the world with a 193i application and development facility in Korea.

Dow also has a 193nm dry scanner at its Cheonan, Korea facility and the combination of these investments enable Dow to significantly shorten both product development cycle times and manufacturing lead times to meet customers’ more advanced requirements.

“Dow now has the full spectrum of capabilities from sales to production to R&D,” said Dominic Yang, group VP of Dow Electronic Materials and country general manager of Dow Chemical Korea. “We are pleased that we can further pave the way for closer cooperation among Dow experts, customers and development partners.”