KOKUSAI ELECTRIC CORPORATION has announced it will construct a new factory for semiconductor manufacturing equipment in Tonami, Toyama in Japan. Mainly, the new plant is aimed to accommodate future expansion of semiconductor device demands.

The new three-story factory will be located at Tonami Smart Inter Yanase Industrial Park in Toyama. Construction is set to start in 2023 and is targeted for completion in 2024. A total of 24 billion yen was allocated for the construction of the new manufacturing plant.

The semiconductor device market is experiencing a rapid demand expansion. Initially, demand came from semiconductors for traditional consumer devices, like cellular phones and PCs, to those for high-growth industries, such as data centers, 5G, and AI. In line with this, semiconductor devices are changing into more complex 3D structures. Meanwhile, it requires higher quality, higher performance, and higher productivity semiconductor production equipment. Growing demand for such equipment drives the growth of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment market.

Against this background, KOKUSAI ELECTRIC has decided to build a new factory for semiconductor manufacturing equipment in Tonami, Toyama. Primarily, the new plant will use existing supply chains and logistics network. A production capacity greater than the company’s Batch Deposition Equipment¹ and Single Wafer Treatment Equipment² is planned. The construction of the new factory and expansion of production capacity of existing production sites will double production capacity from March 2021 level.

¹ Batch Deposition Equipment – a device of batch processing which thin films deposition of semiconductor are formed on high volume wafers all at once

² Single Wafer Treatment Equipment- a device of single wafer processing which removes impurity atoms from thin films by a single wafer unit to improve quality of films such as making particles stabilized