Sumitomo Chemical is moving to tighten its grip on the fast-growing advanced semiconductor materials market with a major new investment in Osaka, aiming to reinforce its position in one of the most strategically important links of the global chip supply chain.
The company will build a new integrated facility at its Osaka Works in Konohana-ku, bringing together photoresist manufacturing process technology management, quality evaluation, and advanced analysis functions under one roof.
The project is designed to strengthen its supply system for cutting-edge photoresists used in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and argon fluoride (ArF) lithography, with completion targeted for the end of fiscal 2027.
Photoresists—light-sensitive materials used to etch microscopic circuit patterns—are a foundational component in semiconductor manufacturing. As chips continue to shrink while growing more complex, demand for higher-performance and more reliable materials is accelerating, driven by the rapid expansion of generative AI, IoT technologies, and massive new data center investments.
Against that backdrop, Sumitomo Chemical is pushing deeper into advanced materials, building on its long-standing expertise in organic synthesis and fine chemicals. The company has steadily expanded its semiconductor materials business, with photoresists emerging as a key growth pillar.
“In 2022, Sumitomo Chemical built new development and evaluation facilities for photoresists at its Osaka Works, where it has, in phases, brought in advanced exposure equipment used to manufacture semiconductors to strengthen its development capabilities from material design through evaluation.”
That earlier investment laid the groundwork for tighter integration between development and testing. But the company now says the next challenge is bridging the gap between laboratory success and stable mass production. Achieving that requires far more precise process control and coordination across every stage—from raw material qualification to final shipment.
The new Osaka facility is intended to do exactly that. By consolidating previously dispersed functions, Sumitomo Chemical aims to create a unified system capable of managing manufacturing processes, quality assurance, and analysis with greater accuracy and speed. The goal is to accelerate the transition into mass production while improving product stability and consistency.
“In 2022, Sumitomo Chemical built new development and evaluation facilities for photoresists at its Osaka Works, where it has, in phases, brought in advanced exposure equipment used to manufacture semiconductors to strengthen its development capabilities from material design through evaluation.”
By strengthening end-to-end control of its photoresist pipeline, the company expects to enhance both supply reliability and global delivery capability for advanced semiconductor customers.
The investment also reflects a broader strategy. Sumitomo Chemical has positioned its semiconductor materials division as a core growth engine and has been steadily scaling up capacity through facility expansions in Japan, new production lines in South Korea, and enhanced R&D infrastructure for next-generation materials.
Sales of EUV and ArF photoresists are already expanding, and development is accelerating on next-generation EUV materials, including proprietary organic molecular photoresists aimed at future chip architectures.
