Mitsubishi Chemical Group Expands Lithomax Photopolymer Capacity at Kyushu Fukuoka Plant

Mitsubishi Chemical Group has decided to build a new plant at its Kyushu Fukuoka Plant in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, to produce Lithomax’s ArF (argon fluoride) photoresist and Lithomax’s EUV (extreme ultraviolet) photoresist. The goal is to increase production capacity for its Lithomax photoresist photopolymer.

Photopolymers are the main component of photoresists, which are used in the photolithography process to copy semiconductor circuit patterns onto wafers. MCG Group’s Lithomax products have low metal and impurity content and meet the high quality requirements required for miniaturization of semiconductor circuits, and are used by many photoresist manufacturers. ArF and EUV photoresists, still growing markets dominated by Japanese manufacturers, are key to further miniaturization, and therefore demand for Lithomax as a raw material is expected to grow steadily in the future.

To respond to this expected demand growth and strengthen the supply chain, MCG Group has decided to build a new production facility for Lithomax at its Kyushu Fukuoka Plant to supplement existing production at the Kanto Tsurumi Plant in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture. This will more than double Lithomax’s ArF photoresist production capacity and also mark the start of large-scale production of Lithomax’s EUV photoresist.