[DigitalToday reporter Daegeon Seok] The Ministry of Science and ICT said it will expand participating institutions in Moa Fab, the national nanofab integrated information system, to 14 from the current 6.

Moa Fab is an integrated platform that links public nanofab facilities in South Korea to help researchers and companies use advanced equipment. It supports the entire cycle from basic and fundamental technology R&D to technology commercialisation. Users can use features such as unified service applications and management, real-time monitoring of progress, recommended reservation times, information on equipment and specialised support staff by institution, and applications for nanofab support programmes.

From January, 8 additional institutions will participate, including the Jeonbuk Nano Technology Cluster Center at the Korea Electronics Technology Institute, the Gwangju Nano Technology Cluster Center at the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, the Nano Process Technology Center at Daegu Technopark, the Research Equipment Education Support Office at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, the Semiconductor Physics Research Institute at Jeonbuk National University, the Research Convergence Support Division at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, the Cheorwon Plasma Industry Technology Institute, and the Nano Convergence Center at Gyeongnam Technopark.

Participating institutions in Moa Fab began in January 2024 with 3 organisations: the National Nanofab Center, the Korea Nanotechnology Institute and the Nano Convergence Technology Institute. In September 2024, participation expanded to 6 institutions as the Semiconductor Joint Research Center at Seoul National University, the Next-Generation Semiconductor Convergence Research Institute at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, and the Semiconductor Materials, Parts and Equipment Technology Center at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute joined.

According to the ministry, in terms of operating public nanofab facilities, service delivery efficiency improved through building a process management system, expanding mobile-based service processing functions and supporting process linkage among institutions. It established a foundation to organically connect equipment, personnel and data held by each institution.

The ministry is also using Moa Fab to operate a public-private consultative body to strengthen the competitiveness of South Korea's semiconductor industry. In March 2025, it signed memorandums of understanding with Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and DB HiTek to upgrade Moa Fab functions. The ministry said they agreed to strengthen public support functions based on Moa Fab for areas including R&D, performance evaluation, prototype production and workforce training.

Lee Kang-woo, director of the Fundamental Technology Division at the ministry, said, "We expect that expanding participating institutions in Moa Fab will improve researchers' access to public nanofab facilities and raise equipment utilisation rates." He added, "Based on public-private cooperation, we plan to expand user-tailored support services through upgrading Moa Fab functions and enhance the competitiveness of domestic nano and semiconductor research."