TOKYO : Osaka Organic Chemical Industry, a Japanese manufacturer of high-end chemicals used in chip production, is betting on the materials market for extreme ultraviolet lithography, a method for making advanced chips.
It already has a 70 per cent share of the market for the argon fluoride monomers used in photoresists and now aims to grow in chemicals for EUV resists - an area becoming increasingly important as the global semiconductor industry is seen doubling in value in the decade to 2030. In many ways, Osaka Organic is emblematic of Japan's chip-making industry today. The world's third-largest economy was once a global giant in making chips before ceding dominance to U.S., Taiwanese and South Korean rivals.
The government, however, wants to see a bigger footprint for the industry with backing for chip foundry venture Rapidus and foreign chipmakers such as TSMC locating production in Japan.