Fujifilm Corporation is investing $18 million to expand semiconductor materials production in Mesa, Arizona, strengthening its capacity to meet rising demand for advanced chip manufacturing materials amid the artificial intelligence boom.

 

The investment will expand production of copper interconnect chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) slurries at the FUJIFILM Electronic Materials U.S.A. facility and establish new manufacturing capabilities for a broader range of CMP slurry products, including materials used in advanced packaging and hybrid bonding.

 

The expanded production line is scheduled to begin operations in 2027. Once operational, the facility will be better positioned to serve growing demand across advanced logic, memory and next-generation packaging applications.

 

“The advanced semiconductor market has entered a period of significant growth, driven by the rapid expansion of demand related to artificial intelligence,” says Brian O’Donnelly, president & CEO, FUJIFILM Electronic Materials U.S.A., Inc. and corporate vice president, FUJIFILM Corporation. “As global semiconductor demand continues to increase, demand for CMP slurries—an essential material used in advanced semiconductor manufacturing—is also growing.”

 

CMP slurries are critical materials used to polish semiconductor surfaces during chip manufacturing, ensuring the uniformity required to build increasingly complex devices. Demand is rising alongside investment in advanced logic and memory chips, as well as sophisticated packaging technologies.

 

Fujifilm already holds a leading global market share in copper interconnect CMP slurries, which are used to form the intricate wiring that connects components within semiconductor devices. The company expects demand for these materials to increase further as chipmakers expand production and adopt more advanced manufacturing processes.

 

The United States has become a major focus for semiconductor investment, with manufacturers continuing to build and expand production facilities. Fujifilm’s latest investment is designed to strengthen its local supply capabilities and position the company to respond to this growing demand.

 

Beyond increasing copper interconnect CMP slurry output for back-end-of-line (BEOL) processes, the Mesa expansion will introduce multi-product manufacturing capabilities covering front-end-of-line (FEOL), middle-of-line (MOL) and advanced packaging applications.

 

The new facilities will also support hybrid bonding, a technology used in advanced semiconductor packaging to create high-density interconnections between chips or wafers.

 

Fujifilm plans to use the expanded site as a bridge between research and development and commercial-scale manufacturing. This will enable technologies developed at the Arizona facility’s global CMP slurry R&D center to move more rapidly into mass production, helping the company respond to evolving customer requirements.

 

The $18 million investment, equivalent to approximately ¥3 billion, is intended to support both immediate capacity needs and medium- to long-term growth in semiconductor materials demand.

 

Fujifilm said it will continue to offer a broad portfolio of semiconductor materials spanning nearly all manufacturing processes, from leading-edge technologies to legacy nodes.

 

The company plans to leverage its manufacturing network across Japan, the United States, Europe and Asia, alongside its research and development capabilities, to provide integrated solutions for semiconductor manufacturers.

 

FUJIFILM Electronic Materials supplies a wide range of materials used in chip production, including photoresists, photolithography-related materials, CMP slurries, post-CMP cleaners, thin-film materials, photosensitive insulating materials, high-purity process chemicals and ultra-pure solvents.

 

With semiconductor manufacturers investing heavily in capacity and increasingly advanced chip architectures, Fujifilm’s Arizona expansion underscores the growing importance of materials suppliers in supporting the next phase of semiconductor manufacturing.