Showa Denko KK (TYO:4004), also known as SDK, posted an operating income of 19.7 billion yen ($175 million) for the first quarter of calendar 2017. This marks a seven-fold increase over the same period last year, and a record-high figure for the first quarter. Will business keep thriving in the second half of 2017 and...
semiconductors
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical to Build New US Plants, Double Ultrapure Hydrogen Peroxide Output
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co. Inc. (TYO:4182) announced on July 13 that it will establish two new U.S. plants for the production of ultrapure hydrogen peroxide, a chemical used for cleaning and other procedures in the manufacturing of semiconductors. Establishment of the new plants is expected to cost no less than $60 million. The company, which...
In Good Shape: Japanese Semiconductor Packaging Makers Ride Strong Market Demand
The major suppliers of semiconductor packaging materials are anticipating strong sales again this year. Demand for these materials is growing, as the semiconductor market is expanding with the Internet of Things (IoT), eco cars and data centers. Sumitomo Bakelite Co. Ltd. (TYO:4203) is targeting a sales increase of 10 percent over the previous year in...
JSR Targets Increased Earnings in Three Growth Fields With New Business Plan
JSR Corp. (TYO:4185) has launched its new medium-term business plan JSR20i9, which covers the three-year period through fiscal 2019. The plan sets goals of achieving net sales of 460 billion yen ($4.11 billion), operating profit of 42 billion yen and a return on equity (ROE) of 8 percent. The company forecasts capital investment to reach...
Kurabo Industries Promotes Heat-Resistant Polyester Film as New Core Product
Kurabo Industries Ltd. (TYO:3106) will soon begin a full-scale rollout of a heat-resistant biaxially stretched film made from special polyester. The film is less prone to shrink when exposed to high temperatures and is less likely to contaminate products or equipment with oligomers. The product is gaining praise for its potential applications in a variety...
Prospect of Toshiba Memory Going Overseas Sends Japanese Chemical Industry Into Stir
Shock waves have been sent throughout the Japanese chemical industry with the heightened likelihood of a foreign acquisition of Toshiba Corp.’s (TYO:6502) semiconductor memory arm, Toshiba Memory Corp. Toshiba is a major buyer of semiconductor material made by chemical manufacturers in Japan. If the company’s semiconductor memory business is sold to foreign investors, sudden and...
HighChem Launches New Service for Business Transfers Between Japan and China
HighChem Co. Ltd. is establishing a new business model to help Japanese and Chinese businesses work together. When Japanese companies transfer technology or projects to Chinese enterprises, the transfer of human resources can be a problem. HighChem’s new service remedies this through the establishment of a joint venture with the target Chinese enterprise so that...
Tokyo Tech Develops World’s Hardest Man-Made Transparent Ceramic
At the Tokyo Institute of Technology’s Institute of Innovative Research, a team spearheaded by Associate Professor Norimasa Nishiyama and Director Fumihiro Wakai from the Laboratory for Materials and Structures has successfully synthesized the third hardest transparent ceramic known. Made of silicon and nitrogen, the ceramic is transparent and can withstand temperatures of up to 1,400...
Nippon Valqua Acquires Major US Tank Manufacturer
Nippon Valqua Industries Ltd. (TYO:7995) has announced its acquisition of Nisshin Gulf Coast Inc., a major U.S. tank manufacturer based in Texas. Nippon Valqua acquired 80 percent of Nisshin Gulf Coast’s shares from the company’s owner for around 800 million yen ($7.08 million). Through this acquisition, Nippon Valqua will gain access to the all-important U.S....
Sumitomo Bakelite to Create Open Lab in Belgium for Automobile Encapsulants
Sumitomo Bakelite Co. Ltd. (TYO:4203) will create a new open lab in Belgium sometime during 2017 with the goal of marketing encapsulants for onboard devices in automobiles. The company plans to promote its advanced encapsulant technology to major auto parts manufacturers and other players in European supply chains. Sumitomo Bakelite hopes to double net sales...
Silicon Wafer Supplies Stay Tight in Lieu of Price Hikes
Supplies remain tight for silicon wafers, the base materials used to produce semiconductors. They were shipped in record numbers in 2016 due to growing demand for semiconductors used in smartphones, eco-friendly automobiles and data centers. However, silicon wafer suppliers have postponed increases in manufacturing output due to profitability concerns. Two major Japanese makers, Shin-Etsu Chemical...
Major Semiconductor Manufacturers Turn Around Business Performance
Business results are improving for major semiconductor manufacturers. Sony Corp. (TYO:6758) has had better-than-expected sales of its CMOS Image Sensors (CIS), and has upwardly revised its operating profit for the fiscal year ending March 2017. Logic specialist Renesas Electronics Corp. (TYO:6723) forecasts a large increase in year-on-year profits for the January-to-March quarter, underpinned by the...
Tosoh Develops New Printable Organic Semiconductor Material
Tosoh Corp. (TYO:4042) has succeeded in developing a new printable organic semiconductor material with superior properties in terms of electron mobility, heat resistance and solubility. In a joint research project with Yamagata University, Tosoh is using this material to prototype an organic electroluminescence (EL) display, manufactured with inkjet printing to verify good performance and operability....
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical to Build Second US Plant for Ultra-Pure Hydrogen Peroxide
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co. Inc. (TYO:4182) has decided to set up a second production center in the U.S. for ultra-pure hydrogen peroxide, which is used to clean semiconductors during their manufacture. The new plant will be built in Portland, Oregon, with construction commencing sometime in 2017. The location is in close proximity to major users...
Development Intensifies for Heat-Dissipation Applications of Boron Nitride
Boron nitride is expected to see growing demand. With its excellent thermal conductivity, it is primed for greater use as a filler in heat-dissipation components used in high-performance semiconductors, which need to release heat efficiently. Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. and Tokuyama Corp. have recently entered the Japanese market for boron nitride, joining manufacturers Denka Co. Ltd....
Commentary: Heavy Demand for Silicon Wafers Leads to Possibility of Price Increases
The supply–demand balance for silicon wafers is tight at present. Demand has increased considerably not only for logic and memory technologies, but also for sensors and other parts related to the Internet of Things (IoT). And several manufacturers are now looking to take a strong stance into price negotiations following the New Year, targeting a...
Sekisui Chemical Develops Solder Resist Inkjet Technology
Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4204) has developed a high-precision coating technology using an inkjet method for solder resist to protect the wires on semiconductor substrates. The volume of resist used is reduced to one tenth of existing technologies and it is capable of improving productivity some three times over. Solder resist is used to protect...
TOK to Build a New Cleaning Solutions Plant in Taiwan for Future Generations of Semiconductors
Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co. Ltd. (TOK; TYO:4186) will construct a new plant in Taiwan for manufacturing cleaning solutions and other related materials compatible with future generations of semiconductor processes. Production at the new plant is scheduled to start in January 2017. The decision to build a new plant has come on account of limits in...
Mitsubishi Chemical to Enter Heat-dissipation Material Market for Power Semiconductor Devices
Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. will enter the market for heat-dissipation materials used in power semiconductor devices, having developed spherical hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) with high thermal conductivity. Mitsubishi Chemical will set up a mass-production system within fiscal 2016. Possessing superb thermal conductivity, hBN has been drawing attention as a heat-dissipation material. By embedding epoxy resin with...
Flosfia Develops Diode With World’s Lowest On-resistance for Next-gen Semiconductors
Kyoto University start-up Flosfia has developed a gallium oxide-based diode with the world’s lowest on-resistance, at 0.1 milliohms per square centimeter. Energy loss can be reduced by 85 percent compared to silicon carbide (SiC) based diodes, which have an on-resistance of 0.7 milliohms per square centimeter. Paid samples will be available from October 2016, with...
