Material innovation for a bright semiconductor future

Technology manufacturers need a steady supply of the right chemicals to create the next generation ofinnovations and devices. Here’s how that happens.

“Being first is important. There is a long
history in our company of being innovators in our industry. We try our best to be
the fastest to respond to current industry
trends and stay ahead of our competitors
the same way we have in the past.”

nufacturing industry. The Japanese sector
has always been at the cutting edge ofinnovative chemicals, but for firms leadingthe charge, it’s not enough to think about
existing markets and today’s success – it’s
about meeting tomorrow’s needs today.
Ishihara Chemical has been an industry
leader for more than a century and eventhough it already has a wide range ofproducts, it is always working to expand its
horizons through innovation. With the firm
having started in medical chemicals andexpanding into a huge range of products

Yasuyuki Sakai,
President, Ishihara Chemical Co., Ltd.

The chemical industry is at the very heartof just about every manufacturing andproduction business, and that’s especiallytrue in Japan.Without semiconductors,
special plating and processed metals there would simply be no modern tech or ma-Cu (Copper) pillar bump for wafer

Chip component with Sn (Tin) platingBlank sample: Colonies Copper nano antiof bacterium coli.
bacterial sample: Nocolony was observed.

from car wax to plating chemicals for semiconductors, president Yasuyuki Sakai isproud of that diversity and its importanceto the industry. He said: “We have fourbusinesses across three different fields.
We call this ‘all-weather business performance’, meaning that if one industry is having a hard time, it can be supported by theothers. We also have strong relationships
with global companies exchanging ideas
and we work with them to predict what theindustry will look like in the future.”
One area of particular interest isin production of all-important semiconductors. Japan once dominated half thePackage substrate with Cu (Copper) build up plating

RF-Tag fabricated by flexographic printing on
paper with Cu nano-ink and photo-sintering.

global market – Ishihara enjoying 80% of
the specific plating chemical supply – but,
despite increasing competition from rivals
like Taiwan, China and USA, Ishihara’sbusiness has remained strong.
They are also strongly committed to
Sustainable Development Goals and takegreen issues seriously, with their platingprocesses for semiconductors industry-leading and future facing. Other key
Ishihara innovations include conductive
copper nano-inks, which are used to print
electronic circuit patterns, an automatedchemical analyzer which monitors chemical conditions vital to produce products

Automated chemical analyzer

such as smartphones, and a uniquefunctional plastic and coating material,
including copper nano-powder, that prevents the spread of bacteria. R&D is important — but speed is king. It’s crucial tobe the best, first. Ishihara is renowned for
creating the first car wax in Japan, the firsttin plating for semiconductors, replacing
more toxic cadmium, and similarly, thefirst to develop a tin-bismuth alloy platingchemical for Pb-free soldering. Mr. Sakai
added: “Being first to market has beenquite important to our company’s growth.
There is a long
history in ourcompany of being innovators
in our industry.”