Tosoh and SMC have outlined plans to expand their high-performance materials product lines, centered on their Yamagata site, and are exploring new growth areas such as the launch of GaN targets by leveraging their accumulated expertise.
Tosoh and SMC have long manufactured and supplied target materials made from high-purity metallic chromium at their Yamagata site in the Zao mountain range. The business area, established in 1983, was spun off as a separate company in 1994 in connection with a redevelopment plan and is now operated from the Zao Industrial Park.
Against the backdrop of growth in the semiconductor market, the company is working to maintain stable sales of chromium targets for photomasks while also expanding sales of products under development. It places strong importance on supplying high-quality products that help improve customer yields. Drawing on its powder metallurgy technologies for metals and ceramics, it conducts integrated production from raw material preparation through finished products, with its ability to enhance purity and uniformity serving as a key strength.
The company identifies accelerating the launch and sales expansion of new products as a key challenge, and has outlined plans to develop market expansion for gallium nitride (GaN) targets into a source of earnings. It also aims to offer a lineup of photomask targets covering applications from legacy generations through leading-edge fields.
Going forward, the company will focus on maintaining and strengthening stable supply, while tightening controls over film deposition quality and foreign-matter contamination in the increasingly miniaturized semiconductor market. It also plans to advance the recycling of target materials and expand its supply system for high-grade products through technical trials.