Showa Denko Materials to Boost Its Production Capacity for CMP Slurries, Laminate Materials for Printed Wiring Boards, and Photosensitive Solder Resists in Taiwan

- A new CMP slurry factory will also be built in South Korea to meet growing demand -

December 08, 2020

Showa Denko Materials Co., Ltd.

Showa Denko Materials Co., Ltd. (President and CEO: Hisashi Maruyama; hereinafter "Showa Denko Materials") announces the decision to boost its production capacity for polishing materials for flattening semiconductor circuits (CMP slurry※1), laminate materials for printed wiring boards (prepreg※2), and photosensitive solder resists in its subsidiary Showa Denko Semiconductor Materials (Taiwan) Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Tainan City, Taiwan, hereinafter "SDSMT"), and to build a new factory for CMP slurries in its subsidiary Showa Denko Electronic Materials (Korea) Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Ansan City, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, hereinafter "SDMKR") in Pyeongtaek City, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Showa Denko Materials will invest a total of approximately 20 billion yen in these projects. SDMKR's new factory is scheduled to start operation in October 2021, while SDSMT will begin expanding its production capacity for CMP slurries in January 2022 and mass-producing prepregs and photosensitive solder resists in January 2023, thereby responding to the ever-increasing demand for these materials in the future.

 

In recent years, the demand for data centers and mobile terminals has increased due to the commercial application of fifth-generation mobile communications systems (5G). In addition, technological innovations are advancing in artificial intelligence (AI) and CASE (connected, autonomous, shared and service, and electric) mobility in the automobile industry. With the market for semiconductors essential for these technologies expected to achieve high growth at an annual rate of more than 5 percent,※3 robust demand is also anticipated for Showa Denko Materials' CMP slurries, laminate materials for printed wiring boards, and photosensitive solder resists.

 

Showa Denko Materials' CMP slurries are used in the manufacturing processes of semiconductor memories※4 and logic※5 for smartphones, data centers, and other applications. Our ceria-based slurries※6 are especially well-received for reducing the polishing scratches with our own techniques using abrasive particles.※7 The market for CMP slurries is expected to grow further with the recent shift from two-dimensional to three-dimensional structures in semiconductor memories and an increasing number of polishing layers for higher density and finer pitched semiconductor logic circuits.

Showa Denko Materials will invest 11 billion yen to enhance SDSMT's plant capacity for CMP slurries and construct a new CMP slurry factory in SDMKR, with the aim of strengthening its product supply systems to meet growing demand as well as the increased needs for higher functionality required for more advanced semiconductor devices.

 

Showa Denko Materials' laminate materials for printed wiring boards boast excellent reliability, warpage properties, and flatness, and are used primarily for semiconductor package substrates. We expect high future growth for our materials with their adoption for large semiconductor packages, such as servers used in data centers, and semiconductor packages for communication modules mounted in smartphones and other devices by integrating such functions as radio wave conversion and noise removal requiring extremely high reliability.

SDSMT built a new factory for laminate materials for printed wiring boards in May 2020 and has launched production. It will scale up its production capacity of prepregs to meet further demand for this material.

 

Photosensitive solder resists require high reliability as an important material protecting semiconductor package substrates. Showa Denko Materials' photosensitive solder resists are employed particularly for large semiconductor packages used for communication devices and servers in data centers requiring the highest reliability.

Our photosensitive solder resists are produced only in Japan, but we will introduce production equipment for liquid solder resists (LSR) and dry film solder resists (DFSR) to SDSMT in Taiwan, thereby bolstering our product supply systems to respond to growing demand.

 

The enhancement of SDSMT's production capacity for our three products will allow us to ensure more timely supplies for our customers in Greater China, Southeast Asian regions, South Korea and other reagions, and deliver these products from Taiwan to our customers around the world even in the event of a disaster or other contingencies at our other production facilities.

 

Showa Denko Materials aims to outpace semiconductor market growth in the information and communications field by strengthening its supply chains for products that contribute to technological innovations in the domains of 5G, AI, and CASE.

We offer a wide-ranging material lineup in the semiconductor-related field to present our customers with total solutions combining various materials and processes. As a member of the Showa Denko Group, we will continue to provide diverse materials and propose comprehensive solutions from material design to functional evaluation, with the aim of becoming a one-stop advanced material partner addressing the higher-level needs of our customers.

CMP slurries

Laminate materials for printed wiring boards

Photosensitive solder resists

 

Outline of SDSMT

(1) Name Showa Denko Semiconductor Materials (Taiwan) Co., Ltd.
(2) Address Tainan City, Taiwan
(3) Representative Yasuhiro Murai
(4) Business Manufacture of polishing materials for flattening semiconductor circuits and laminate materials for printed wiring boards, and slitting of photosensitive films for printed wiring boards
(5) Capital 702.797 million Taiwan dollars
(6) Investment ratio Showa Denko Materials Co., Ltd. 100%
(7) Start of operation 2012

Outline of SDMKR

(1) Name Showa Denko Electronic Materials (Korea) Co., Ltd.
(2) Address Ansan City, Gyeonggi Province, Korea
(3) Representative Jin-yong Kim
(4) Business Slitting of photosensitive films for printed wiring boards, and sales of functional materials
(5) Capital 630.000 million Korean won
(6) Investment ratio Showa Denko Materials Co., Ltd. 100%
(7) Start of operation 1995

 

  • ※1 CMP (Chemical Mechanical Planarization) refers to a technology for smoothing and flattening the rough surfaces created in the manufacturing process of semiconductor device circuits. CMP slurry is used for this surface treatment during the manufacturing process and it consists of abrasive particles and liquids.
  • ※2 Prepreg is a material comprising glass cloth impregnated with resin in a semi-cured state.
  • ※3 Source: WSTS (World Semiconductor Trade Statistics)
  • ※4 Semiconductor memory is an integrated circuit tasked with storing data in a semiconductor device.
  • ※5 Semiconductor logic is an integrated circuit serving as a calculator in a semiconductor device.
  • ※6 Ceria-based slurry uses cerium oxide (IV) as abrasive particles for CMP slurry to enable high-speed polishing with few scratches.
  • ※7 Abrasive particles are a hard substance used for polishing.

 

For further information, contact

Public Relations Group, Brand Communication Department