Fujifilm Corp. (Tokyo, Japan) has announced the completion of a new production facility for post-CMP cleaners at the Oita Factory of FUJIFILM Electronic Materials Co., Ltd. (FFEM), the core company leading Fujifilm’s semiconductor materials business. The facility began operations in August 2026. This investment will significantly expand production capacity for post-CMP cleaners used in the manufacturing of advanced semiconductors, including those for AI applications, for which demand is growing rapidly.
In recent years, the semiconductor market has grown rapidly driven by the expansion of AI, 5G, and IoT, with particularly strong demand for advanced semiconductors used in AI applications. Fujifilm’s (Tokyo, Japan) semiconductor materials business achieved an average annual sales growth rate of approximately 20% from FY2021 through FY2025. To support this growth, Fujifilm invested more than ¥100 billion from FY2021 to FY2024, expanding production capacity for CMP slurries in Japan, the United States, and Taiwan, and increasing production capacity for polyimides in Japan and Belgium. Demand for its photosensitive dielectric materials for advanced packaging, including ZEMATES™, has also grown rapidly.
The post-CMP cleaners manufactured at the Oita Factory are used after CMP processes to remove particles, trace metals, and organic residues while protecting metal surfaces. Demand is rapidly increasing not only for CMP slurries, which are essential for planarization processes required to improve semiconductor performance, but also for post-CMP cleaners used in subsequent cleaning processes. Leveraging its strength in providing integrated solutions incorporating both CMP slurries and post-CMP cleaners, Fujifilm is expanding sales globally, particularly among customers in North America, Europe, and key semiconductor manufacturing hubs in Asia.
Driven by advancements in semiconductor miniaturization and 3D stacking technologies, demand for Fujifilm’s post-CMP cleaners is expected to more than double in terms of sales by FY2030 compared with FY2024. The new production building is equipped with automated manufacturing facilities and quality evaluation equipment designed to meet the extremely high purity requirements of cutting-edge semiconductor materials. By tripling production capacity at the Oita Factory, Fujifilm aims to further expand its business in the advanced semiconductor market. Solar panels have been installed on the roof of the new building to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from factory operations through greater use of renewable energy.