AGC : to Double Production Capability for EUVL Mask Blanks
January 24, 2022 at 09:17 pm EST
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In recent years, the EUV process has been increasingly adopted in semiconductor production, not only for logic devices but also for DRAM*1 and other memory devices. In addition to the increase in demand for EUVL mask blanks due to this trend, AGC also expects to ship EUVL mask blanks for the next and subsequent generations, and has therefore decided to increase its production capability.
AGC began conducting R&D on photomask blanks to be used in semiconductor production processes using EUV lithography technology in 2003. In 2017, AGC started production of EUVL mask blanks by advancing technology development combining its proprietary technologies in glass materials, glass processing, and coating. AGC will gradually make the necessary investments in response to market needs as the world's only EUVL mask blank manufacturer capable of handling all processes from glass materials to coating. In July 2020, it decided on a major expansion project*2, including building expansion, at Group company AGC Electronics, where production started in January 2022.
Under its AGC plus 2.0 management policy, the AGC Group has positioned the Electronics business as a strategic business. AGC will continue to make aggressive capital investments in the EUVL mask blank business, for which demand is expected to grow significantly, aiming for sales of more than 40 billion yen by 2025 and contributing to the advancement of the semiconductor industry.
*1 DRAM: An abbreviation for Dynamic Random Access Memory. It is a type of semiconductor memory device and is generally used as a main memory for PCs.
*2 "AGC to Make Drastic Expansion to Supply System for EUVL Mask Blanks", announced July 27, 2020. https://www.agc.com/en/news/detail/1201109_2814.html
Reference
■About EUVL mask blanks
EUVL mask blanks are a low-thermal expansion glass substrate with various kinds of optical coating films on its surface. An EUV photomask comprises a semiconductor chip circuitry pattern formed onto the surface of an EUVL mask blank, and this circuit is transferred onto a silicon wafer in order to create a semiconductor chip. The requirements for EUVL mask blanks are rising as circuits become ever finer, such as very small defects as close to zero as possible and very high flatness.
■About AGC Electronics
Official name
AGC Electronics Co., Ltd.
Capital
300 million yen
Representative
Hiromasa Sato
Head office location
Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture
Employees
Approx. 700
Primary business
Glass frit and paste, optical pickups and other optoelectronic products, synthetic silica products for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, EUV lithography photomask blanks
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AGC - Asahi Glass Co. Ltd. published this content on 25 January 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 25 January 2022 02:16:06 UTC.
AGC Inc. specializes in the production and marketing of glass products. The group is also manufacturing chemical products. Net sales break down by family of products and services as follows:
- flat panes and car windows (44.2%);
- chemical products (39%): caustic soda, vinyl chloride, urethane substances, fluorinated resins, iodine, etc.;
- glass substrates for screens and for electronic equipment (15%);
- other (1.8%): ceramic, logistic services, etc.