According to Nikkei Asia, Japanese photoresist giant JSR will set up its first semiconductor material production base in Taiwan, with the goal of putting it into production in 2028 and directly supplying TSMC nearby. JSR has established a joint venture with local partners in early April, with an investment amounting to tens of millions of dollars. This is not only building a factory, JSR also needs to jointly develop advanced photoresists with TSMC, including metal oxide photoresists for EUV lithography. The two parties have been deeply bound from the research and development stage.
Why do you have to go? It will be too late if we don't move. Previously, JSR had to ship samples to TSMC by sea from Japan, which took several weeks to go back and forth, seriously slowing down the verification progress. Now that the factory is built at your doorstep, the response speed has changed from "on a monthly basis" to "on a daily basis."
More realistic pressure comes from Chinese manufacturers. Toru Kimura, general manager of JSR's Electronic Materials Division, said frankly: "Although Chinese companies are threatening, it will still take some time to catch up with our technology." The implication is that while there is still a leading advantage, hurry up and get a seat.
With the implementation of JSR, the top three Japanese photoresist companies (Tokyo Onka Industry, JSR, Shin-Etsu Chemical) have all set up production bases in Taiwan. The three companies collectively control about 80% of the world's photoresist share, with JSR ranking second with a market share of 19%.
will be put into production in 2028, which is exactly in the ramp-up period of TSMC’s 2nm and below processes. With this move, JSR is betting that advanced processes will only become more and more dependent on high-end photoresist.
