Japanese SMEs Are Market Leaders in Semiconductor-Related Technology
The deployment of 5G technology is expected to have a huge impact on the global semiconductor industry and Japanese small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are set to benefit, as Japan plays a critical role in the production of semiconductors. A recent United States International Trade Commission paper stated: “Japanese exports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment remain globally competitive ... and several Japanese firms retain considerable market share.” For chemicals used in semiconductor manufacture, Japan’s dominance is even greater, producing around 90% of the world’s supply of resists and fluorinated polyimide, according to a Reuters report citing government sources. Tech research company Analysys Mason predicts 5G capital spending will rise from $10.1 billion in 2020 to $23.8 billion in 2021 and the semiconductor sector will be a big part of that.
Finding a Single Drop in a Swimming Pool
About 50 years ago, Tokyo Ohka Kogyo became the first Japanese company to develop and manufacture photoresists. Today, it accounts for 25.1% of the global market, rising to 45.9% (*1) for EUV (extreme ultraviolet) photoresists for the high-end semiconductors the 5G market demands. A photoresist is a light-sensitive liquid layer that coats semiconductor wafers and is an essential part of photolithography, the “photographic” process by which light creates circuit diagrams. Intense light is projected multiple times via a photomask, which bears the circuit design, and the photoresist mirrors this pattern. The parts exposed to the light are washed away with a developing solution, and the pattern on the wafer is built up with repeated processing to form semiconductor circuits. All these steps must be carried out precisely and with absolutely pure materials.
*1 These numbers are from Tokyo Ohka Kogyo’s Integrated Report 2019 by Fuji Chimera Research Institute, Inc.
“One of the factors behind our success in this field is that we were originally a chemical company,” says Ohashi Hideo, the General Manager of Tokyo Ohka’s Public Relations Division. “The process of making a semiconductor requires zero impurities and we had the technical ability to ensure that. We’re talking about parts per trillion, so it would be like detecting a single drop in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.” The photoresist and photoresist ancillaries market was worth an estimated $3.3 billion in 2019 and is predicted to rise 6.1% annually, according to Markets and Markets. Tokyo Ohka, which has won several awards, including Preferred Quality Supplier from Intel, estimates its overall sales this year will exceed $1 billion.
Seeing the Light
Another market leader in the production of semiconductors is NuFlare Technology, which manufactures electron beam mask writers. The intensity of the light projected onto photoresists is a major factor in writing to the level 5G semiconductors require. The more intense the beam, the more precise the circuit pattern. NuFlare broke through the beam intensity barrier in the late 1990s when it managed to increase the beam’s power from 10 kV to 50 kV.
“Bringing the voltage up to 50 kV meant we could produce a much higher pattern resolution,” NuFlare Managing Director Yamada Hirokazu explains. “In this business, speed and accuracy are the keys. It wasn’t easy, but it enabled us to outpace our competitors. The beam must reach its target with an accuracy of one or two nanometers over several hours, which could represent 300 billion ‘shots’ at the exact target.” One nanometer is one millionth of a millimeter.
“We believe that we are the only company at this high level of technology for the 5G generation of semiconductors,” Yamada says. “When you have to deal with a large amount of applications as well as a large volume of memory and processing, it involves higher specifications of semiconductors and extremely high-speed mask-writing technology. We are talking about 5G with a very high frequency and power semiconductors, so we also have an epitaxial growth system that deposits gallium nitride on wafers, which has a faster response time than silicon and reduces power loss.” In order to maintain this technological superiority, NuFlare allocates around 20% of its sales for R&D, collaborating with universities as well as parent company Toshiba. According to Allied Market Research, the global photomask market was valued at $4 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow at 2.5% annually.
‘We Are Manufacturers’
One of the big Japanese manufacturers of semiconductor manufacturing equipment is Towa, which on three occasions has revolutionized the molding process that seals semiconductor chips by insulating them with resin. In 2009, Towa introduced its compression molding system, reducing resin waste to zero by melting the resin for dipping wire and chips and making the sealing of the advanced semiconductors faster, easier and cheaper. The system is suitable for molding the thinner, larger and more complex chip-loaded substrates developed by electronics manufacturers to produce semiconductors for 5G applications. This has helped Towa achieve a 56.6% share of the global market.
“In the 11 years since we unveiled our first compression model, no other company has been able to replicate what we have done,” Towa President and CEO Okada Hirokazu says. “Even though some have tried to copy us, if they don’t understand the technology and processes involved, they won’t be able to match our system. We believe that semiconductors will be used more widely with 5G, and the demand is getting higher and higher.”
Looking ahead, Towa is working with the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC) in Belgium and several universities. Beyond semiconductors, its engineering expertise in lenses has produced an in-vehicle heads-up monitoring display system and touch-free “air buttons” to operate machinery. And it is also undertaking to manufacture a spray-on instrument which sprays adhesion barrier material on organs during abdominal surgery. “We are manufacturers and we constantly want to provide something that will surprise our customers,” Okada says. At Towa’s headquarters in Kyoto, a calligraphy artwork by the firm’s founder makes a statement about what the company represents: “There is nothing more pleasurable than talking about the art of making things.” While Japan may not make as many semiconductors as it once did, the “things” it does produce are making crucial contributions to the 5G semiconductor world.
Note: All Japanese names in this advertorial are given in the traditional format, with the family name preceding the given name.
To learn more about TOKYO OHKA KOGYO CO., LTD., click here.
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