Shin-Etsu Chemical will make facility investments totaling ¥30 billion ($285 million) to expand its photoresists business manufacturing bases in Japan and Taiwan.
It will carry out production capacity expansion at its subsidiary company, Shin-Etsu Electronics Materials Taiwan Co., Ltd. (located in Douliu City, Yunlin County, Taiwan) and the Naoetsu Plant of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., (located in Joetsu City in Niigata Prefecture, Japan).
“In order to cater to the growing demand for photoresists, which are essential in cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing, and advances in technology development, Shin-Etsu will continue making facility investments,” the company said.
Shin-Etsu in Taiwan completed its first-phase construction in 2019 and will build a new plant. The construction project in Taiwan is aimed for completion by February 2021. The latest construction work at Joetsu is due to be completed in February 2022.
The company plans to capture expanding demand in the semiconductor devices market and the demand for semiconductor-related materials.
The new facilities will raise capacity for the crucial semiconductor material by 20%.
Shin-Etsu Chemical has developed and is mass-producing high-sensitivity ArF excimer laser photoresists and multi-layer resists materials that improve the high precision of circuit patterns.
A photoresist is a photosensitive polymer material essential in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices. Japanese companies together hold about 80% of the global photoresist market, with Shin-Etsu alone controlling 20% to 30%.