Japan's Shin-Etsu Chemical will increase the production capacity of semiconductor materials by 20%.
It is preparing to build new production plants for photosensitive materials (photoresist) used in semiconductor production in Japan and Taiwan before 2022, which will meet the growing semiconductor demand of 5G and data centers.
Photosensitive materials are used to form circuits on silicon wafer substrates. Japanese materials companies account for approximately 80% of the global share. Shin-Etsu Chemical is the largest supplier with a market share of about 20-30%.
Shin-Etsu Chemical will also produce photosensitive materials for the most cutting-edge semiconductor production technology "EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet)" in Taiwan. In the past, photosensitive materials for extreme ultraviolet were only produced in Japan.