With the chip race heating up, niche Japanese chemical supplier hopes to boost sales

Specializing in high-end chipmaking technologies, Osaka Organic Chemical Industry produces chemicals that can fetch thousands of dollars per kilogram.

The increasing usage of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography by businesses like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics, which are increasing their use of the state-of-the-art production technique, is now expected to improve sales for the Japanese corporation.

The president of Osaka Organic, Masayuki Ando, stated to reporters that his company anticipates significant growth in sales "sometime around 2026," suggesting that EUV-produced chips may be produced more frequently during that period.

One of the chemicals used in photoresists—light-sensitive materials—that are used to transfer circuit shapes onto silicon wafers is monomers, of which Osaka Organic is a significant source. When it comes to argon fluoride monomers, which are used in photoresists for chipmaking technology that is a generation behind EUV, the company claims to control about 70% of the global market.

Companies like TSMC and Samsung often use EUV to create the most sophisticated processors available, with transistors spaced just a few nanometers apart. Intel joined the competition in September and unveiled its first item utilizing the technology.

The EUV market is expected to grow as well, as AI applications drive the need for more sophisticated chip design.

A modest amount of the subingredients for the resists used in EUV processes are already produced by Osaka Organic, and some sample goods have previously been employed in the semiconductor manufacturing process. The client's name was withheld by the business.