KIER opens door to domestic production of high-purity deuterated ammonia for semiconductors, achieving Korea’s first commercial-scale production
Successfully produced high-purity deuterated ammonia with a purity of over 99%, using Korea’s independently developed low-pressure, low-temperature ammonia production technology
image: The catalyst developed by the research team
Credit: KOREA INSTITUTE OF ENERGY RESEARCH
A research team led by Dr. Hyung Chul Yoon at the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER, President Yi Chang-Keun) has developed Korea’s first technology for producing high-purity deuterated ammonia (ND₃), opening the door to domestic production and industrialization.
Deuterated ammonia is a material in which the hydrogen (H) atoms in ammonia (NH₃) are replaced with deuterium (D). When used in semiconductor manufacturing processes, it can help suppress defects that occur inside semiconductor devices, leading to steadily growing demand.
However, Korea has lacked both the technology and facilities needed to produce deuterated ammonia, relying largely on imports from countries such as Japan and China. As a result, the need for domestic production has continued to grow in order to ensure supply stability and price competitiveness.
Against this backdrop, the KIER research team successfully produced deuterated ammonia at a scale of 7.7 kilograms per day by applying its independently developed ruthenium catalyst. The catalyst developed by the team reduced the pressure required in conventional deuterated ammonia synthesis to one-fifth of the existing level and improved the temperature conditions, enabling the synthesis of high-purity deuterated ammonia with a purity of over 99%.
The research team added barium oxide to the conventional ruthenium catalyst to reduce the energy required for nitrogen dissociation, which is the most difficult step in ammonia synthesis. Barium oxide increases the electron density on the ruthenium surface, weakening the bond strength of nitrogen molecules on the surface. This made it possible to dissociate nitrogen and produce deuterated ammonia at significantly lower temperatures and pressures than before.
The team verified the developed process through more than 1,000 hours of continuous operation and demonstrated its durability and reliability through third-body certification by the Korea Testing Laboratory. The team also confirmed that the developed process does not generate impurities that could adversely affect semiconductor performance, demonstrating its capability to stably produce ultra-high-purity deuterated ammonia.
Through this technology development, the research team expects to establish a domestic production base, reduce reliance on imports, and create opportunities to enter the global specialty gas market. To this end, the team plans to actively pursue entry into the isotope materials market for the semiconductor, display, and fine chemical industries by optimizing the process and scaling up production.
Dr. Hyung Chul Yoon, the principal investigator, said, “This achievement is significant in that it demonstrates the possibility of producing high-value isotope materials used in semiconductor processes and other applications by utilizing Korea’s independently developed ammonia synthesis technology.” He added, “Based on our long-term stable operation experience and low-pressure, low-temperature process technology, this platform can be expanded in the future into a small-scale production platform for high-performance chemical materials needed in the semiconductor, display, and precision analysis industries.”
This research was supported by KIER’s research program, the National Research Council of Science & Technology’s Global TOP program, the “Strategic Research Group for High-Efficiency and High-Safety Clean Hydrogen Storage and Utilization,” and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries’ project for Eco-Friendly Ship Full-Cycle Innovative Technology Development Project.