Fujifilm to Invest 6 Billion Yen in its Kumamoto Site for New Advanced Semiconductor Materials Production Facility

TOKYO – FUJIFILM Corporation (President and CEO, Representative Director: Teiichi Goto) announces a capital investment of approximately 6 billion yen in its Kumamoto site to further expand its Electronic Materials business.

FUJIFILM Electronic Materials Co., Ltd. (Head office in Yokohama City, Kanagawa; President Shigeki Kobayashi; FFEM), the core company that leads Fujifilm’s Electronic Materials business, will install a production facility for color filter materials used in image sensors at the Kyushu site of its manufacturing subsidiary, FUJIFILM Material Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (FFMT Kyushu). This facility is expected to start operations in the spring of 2025.

Image sensors, a type of semiconductor that converts light into electrical signals for visual display, are used in digital cameras, smartphones and other electronic devices. With the recent expansion of image sensor applications in automobiles and security devices, the image sensor market is expected to grow at a rate of 7% per annum¹.

Fujifilm manufactures color filter materials for image sensors in Shizuoka, Japan as well as in Hsinchu of Taiwan. Fujifilm is also building a new color filter materials production site in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, increasing the number of production sites. In addition, Fujifilm is promoting the development and introduction of products that target a wider range of wavelengths beyond the visible light range by leveraging its expertise in advanced functional molecular technology and nano-dispersion technology. Fujifilm is introducing color filter materials or the Wave Control Mosaic (WCM)² to further expand the business.

FFEM is introducing the latest production facility at FFMT Kyushu to expand its production capacity for color filter materials to be used in image sensors. The facility will feature a Clean Room and state-of-the-art quality assessment equipment, establishing a solid quality assurance structure. The production and quality assurance structure will be at the same level as the Shizuoka site, ensuring business continuity planning to provide greater stability in product supply.

Fujifilm will establish a global production structure with a total of 4 sites. This structure will enable Fujifilm to ensure stable production and distribution of high-quality color filter materials for image sensors and fulfill its supply responsibility as the market leader. Fujiflm will expand sales of WCM by accelerating the launch of new products that meet customer needs.

In addition, by the end of January 2024, FFMT Kyushu is scheduled to begin full-scale operation of a new production facility for CMP slurries³, a basic material in semiconductor manufacturing.

Fujifilm acquired the semiconductor high purity process chemicals (HPPC) business of U.S. semiconductor materials manufacturer, Entegris, Inc. in October 2023. Leveraging the resulting  strengthening of its broad product lineup and global supply structure, as well as its advanced R&D capabilities and solid trusting relationships with customers, the company is striving to accelerate its business growth, with the goal of achieving 500 billion yen in revenues in the global Electronic Materials business by FY2030. The company will continue to contribute to the development of the semiconductor industry through the development and supply of cutting-edge semiconductor materials.

Capital Investment Overview:
1. Location:  Kikuyo-machi, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto (inside the factory of FFMT Kyushu)
2. Total investment value: Approximately 6 billion yen
3. Description: Production facility and quality assessment equipment for color filter materials for image sensors
4. Operation commencement: Spring of 2025

¹ According to “CCD & CMOS market’s marketing analysis for H1 2023” by the market research company, Techno System Research
² General term referring to a group of functional materials for controlling electromagnetic light waves in a broad range of wavelengths, including photosensitive color materials for manufacturing color filters for image sensors such as CMOS sensors, used in digital cameras and smartphones
³ CMP slurry is a polisher for evenly levelling semiconductor surface, which contains a mixture of wires and insulation films of varying hardness.