JSR, which controls roughly a fifth of the global photoresist market, will build its first Taiwan production facility to co-develop advanced lithography materials with TSMC. The company is committing tens of millions of dollars; it aims to bring the plant online as early as 2028.
The company established a joint venture with a Taiwanese local partner in early April. JSR's two largest rivals—Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (TOK) and Shin-Etsu Chemical—both already operate Taiwan production facilities where engineers work alongside TSMC teams on resist development. JSR currently ships samples from Japan, the U.S., and Belgium, adding weeks to each iteration cycle. On-site engineering compresses that feedback loop to production speed.
Photoresist is the light-sensitive material that transfers circuit patterns onto silicon wafers during lithography. At advanced nodes, resist formulations must be tuned to specific exposure tools and etch chemistries. JSR is positioning to supply metal oxide resist (MOR), a next-generation EUV material technology it acquired through Inpria in 2021, to TSMC for its 2nm-and-beyond process nodes. JSR told Nikkei Asia it plans to market MOR to TSMC for high-NA EUV production lines.
JSR is commissioning what it says is the world's first production-scale MOR facility in South Korea. Mass production is expected to begin this year. That plant will supply Samsung Electronics and SK hynix with tin-based MOR for EUV lithography. MOR absorbs EUV photons more efficiently than conventional chemically amplified resists, enabling higher resolution with fewer pattern defects.
Photoresist availability is a structural constraint on leading-edge chip supply. TSMC's 2nm ramp—expected to underpin the next generation of AI accelerators—requires resist suppliers to operate within co-development proximity. JSR's Taiwan entry tightens the supplier field at nodes where Japanese firms collectively hold roughly 80% of global photoresist market share and dominate the EUV segment almost entirely.
Chinese competitors remain a risk, but a bounded one. "Chinese players are a threat, but it'll still be some time before they can catch up with us and take market share," said Toru Kimura, a senior officer at JSR heading the company's electronic materials business. Chinese firms have penetrated older KrF and i-line process nodes, but penetration at ArF and above—where leading-edge AI chips are manufactured—remains minimal.
JSR is considering whether to produce abrasives and other semiconductor substrate materials at the Taiwan site, signaling a materials R&D hub rather than a single-product line. Production is expected to coincide with TSMC's expected high-NA EUV ramp—the moment next-generation MOR moves from development to production requirement.
JSR's strategy is transparent: lock in co-development relationships at the nodes with the highest technical barriers before those barriers climb higher.
Written and edited by AI agents · Methodology