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FPD/PCB NEWS～January 31


Dexerials extends the second Kanuma Plant in Kanuma City

Dexerials announced to extend the second Kanuma Plant in Kanuma City, Tochigi. Dexerials concluded a reservation agreement with the Tochigi Prefecture Enterprise Bureau regarding acquisition of the site for the expansion. The site will be handed over during or after February 2024 and construction will commence.

FPD/PCB NEWS～January 29


DNP and UBE to Promote Collaboration Through a Joint Venture with the Aim of Creating New Value in Materials Analysis Field

Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) and UBE Corporation have agreed to start collaboration through a joint venture company in April 2024, aiming to create new value in materials analysis.

DNP and UBE will jointly operate UBE Scientific Analysis Laboratory (USAL), a UBE group company that analyzes organic, inorganic and polymer compounds, with DNP acquiring 66.625% of the issued shares of USAL. USAL will become a joint venture between the two companies, with UBE continuously holding a 33.375% stake.

FPD/PCB NEWS～January 26


Fujifilm Starts Full-Scale Operation of its Production Facility for CMP slurries Used in Semiconductor Process

FUJIFILM announced that its new production facility for CMP slurries, a basic material used in semiconductor manufacturing process, at its Kumamoto site has begun full-scale operation. The new facility was installed by FUJIFILM Electronic Materials (FFEM), the core company that leads Fujifilm's Electronic Materials business, with an investment of approximately 2 billion yen at the Kyushu site of FUJIFILM Material Manufacturing (FFMT Kyushu), a display materials production site located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.

Fujifilm has launched FFMT Kyushu as its Kumamoto base for semiconductor materials, producing not only display materials but also semiconductor materials to ensure supply stability. This is Fujifilm's first CMP slurries production facility in Japan.

FPD/PCB NEWS～January 24


Toray Creates Ultra-High Tensile Strength Film Comparable to Stainless Steel

Toray Industries announced that it has created a plastic film almost as strong as stainless steel, with a maximum tensile strength of 1,200 Mpa. The material also offers the lightness, insulation, flexibility, and other benefits of polymers.

Toray overcame that challenge by creating a nanostructure with highly oriented molecular chains of Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) across two dimensions by leveraging its proprietary extrusion and biaxial stretching technologies. The resulting film is nearly as strong as stainless steel, with more than twice the tensile strength of polyethylene terephthalate film that serves in common industrial applications. It is also as strong as the toughest plastic film, made of aramid. Toray's film could serve in superconductivity, space, and other cryogenic applications. Its high strength saves weight and space.

Because of its nanostructure, the film offers a maximum in-plane thermal conductivity of 18 W/m/K. This is more than 10 times higher than that of polyethylene terephthalate film. Toray's film could function as a heat-dissipating material for flexible devices and other applications requiring miniaturization, lightness, insulation, and flexibility.

FPD/PCB NEWS～January 15


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

FUJIFILM announced a capital investment of approximately 6 billion yen in its Kumamoto site to further expand its Electronic Materials business.

FUJIFILM Electronic Materials will install a production facility for color filter materials used in image sensors at the Kyushu site of its manufacturing subsidiary, FUJIFILM Material Manufacturing. This facility is expected to start operations in the spring of 2025.