SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics is testing hydrogen fluoride etching gas from companies outside Japan as Tokyo's tightened export controls risk cutting off the vital chipmaking material to South Korea manufacturers, a company source told Nikkei on July 16.
While the insider did not disclose the specific companies involved, the gas likely comes from producers in China, Taiwan or South Korea. Samsung has sent senior officials to Taiwan and mainland China to seek alternative suppliers since Japan announced the curbs July 1.
