Hanmi wins deal to supply electromagnetic interference shielding devices to China
Hanmi Semiconductor Co., South Korea's semiconductor equipment manufacturer, has won a record 22.9 billion won ($18.9 million) contract from China's leading semiconductor packaging company to provide two sets of machinery that shield electromagnetic interference (EMI) of a semiconductor device. The devices dubbed as EMI Shield Vision Attach and EMI Shield Vision Detach allow the process of covering the surface of semiconductor device packages with a sheet of ultra-thin metal to block electromagnetic emissions, which can disrupt the operation of an electronic device. The attach and detach shields oversee the entire process before and after the shielding including the testing and sorting process.
According to Hanmi Semiconductor on Friday, the contract from Chinese semiconductor packaging company JCET STATSChipPAC is the single largest order won in its corporate history. It attributed its achievement to continuous two-year efforts on promoting research and development. JCET STATSChipPAC was set up last year after China's Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology Co. acquired Singapore's STATS ChipPAC, the world's fourth-largest semiconductor packaging and testing company.
The feat comes amid burgeoning demand for radiation shielding from smartphone makers.
Apple Inc. incorporates the shielding procedure to its manufacturing process for its next-generation models. Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei Technologies Co. and Lenovo Group have also paid interest in the technology.
Most of Hanmi Semiconductor clients are based in China and Taiwan. The company could benefit from China's campaign to strengthen chip-making technology.
Hanmi Semiconductor has already launched Hanmi Taiwan last month as part of efforts to strengthen its competitiveness in Chinese-speaking markets.
"We plan to complete our third manufacturing facility in the first half of this year, which will increase our mass production capability," said Kwak Dong-shin, vice chairman of Hanmi Semiconductor.
