GENAXIS Invests in HiKM, a Semiconductor In-Line SEM Solutions Company

GENAXIS Invests in HiKM, a Semiconductor In-Line SEM Solutions Company

• Addressing advanced process metrology demand amid AI and HBM-driven semiconductor investment
• A customer-tailored equipment company led by a founder with more than 35 years of semiconductor metrology experience

GENAXIS, a global accelerator and TIPS operator, has completed an investment in HiKM, a semiconductor In-Line SEM solutions company.

The global semiconductor market has recently been recovering rapidly, driven by expanding AI infrastructure investment and growing demand for high-value memory such as HBM. As semiconductor demand spreads across advanced memory, high-performance computing and data centers, the complexity of manufacturing processes, including fine patterning, 3D stacking and advanced packaging, is also increasing. As a result, high-precision metrology and inspection equipment for early defect detection and stable yield management is becoming increasingly important.

HiKM develops customer-tailored In-Line SEM solutions required in semiconductor mass production processes. Its flagship product, BSR-1000, is designed to observe and analyze defects on the wafer backside in a non-destructive manner within the production line, aiming to reduce delays and sample damage associated with conventional external analysis workflows.

As semiconductor processes rapidly advance toward 3D stacked structures and finer patterns, areas that are difficult to address with conventional optical metrology are expanding. In advanced memory production lines in particular, precise metrology and fast feedback for not only the wafer frontside but also the backside, bevel, micro-defects and process contaminants are emerging as key factors in yield management. Accordingly, the need for In-Line SEM-based metrology solutions that can directly identify and analyze defects within the production process is growing.

HiKM's BSR-1000 is a solution developed to complement the limitations of conventional workflows that require wafers to be taken out for analysis, enabling non-destructive inspection and analysis of the wafer backside within the production line. Through this, semiconductor manufacturers can more quickly identify process abnormalities and make efficient decisions about subsequent process steps. Based on the process requirements of major semiconductor manufacturers, the company has verified key performance elements such as damage-free surface inspection, optimization of observation conditions, and defect-coordinate-based precision movement and analysis.

Starting with BSR-1000, HiKM is also pursuing development of its next-generation product lineup, BSR-2000. BSR-2000 aims to address the advanced metrology requirements of next-generation semiconductor processes by combining a high-resolution column, a vacuum stage with residual micro-vibration control, wafer flip and holder technologies, AI-based SEM image analysis, and environmental noise measurement and removal technologies. Through collaboration with domestic research institutes and key partners, the company is also increasing the potential for internalizing core technologies and localizing equipment.

HiKM's strength lies in the founder's long experience in semiconductor metrology and understanding of the global equipment market. CEO Kyungmo Yang has accumulated more than 35 years of experience in semiconductor metrology and In-Line SEM at domestic and overseas semiconductor manufacturers and equipment companies. His understanding of both mass-production line requirements and equipment development and commercialization structures is regarded as an important competitive edge for customer-tailored equipment development and market entry.

In this investment, GENAXIS highly evaluated HiKM's expertise in semiconductor metrology, customer-demand-driven product development capabilities, the possibility of early market validation through BSR-1000, and product expandability leading to BSR-2000 and next-generation SEM solutions. In particular, as AI semiconductor and advanced memory investment expands and demand for domestic semiconductor equipment and process metrology increases, GENAXIS expects HiKM to create a new market in specialized metrology areas that large equipment companies have not sufficiently addressed.

GENAXIS stated, "As the semiconductor market enters a renewed growth phase centered on AI and high-value memory, the importance of metrology and inspection technologies that improve process stability and yield is growing together with production capacity expansion. HiKM deeply understands metrology challenges that occur in actual semiconductor mass production processes and has the expertise to implement them as customer-tailored In-Line SEM solutions."

GENAXIS added, "Based on initial market entry through BSR-1000 and the development of the next-generation BSR-2000, we believe HiKM has strong potential to grow into a meaningful domestic equipment company in advanced semiconductor process metrology."

HiKM plans to expand customer applications and advance BSR-1000 while concurrently developing BSR-2000 and enhancing next-generation SEM solutions. In the mid- to long-term, the company plans to expand its product lineup from wafer backside inspection to bevel inspection and electron energy loss spectroscopy-based analysis solutions, and to broaden the application scope of customer-tailored In-Line SEM solutions beyond semiconductors to display and battery fields.