Page 158 - CW E-Magazine (30-1-2024)

News from Abroad

COLOUR FILTERS FOR IMAGE SENSORS
Fujifilm to raise production of advanced semicon-

ductor materials at Japan site

Japanese diversified conglomerate, colour filter materials or the Wave Con-
Fujifilm Corporation, has announced trol Mosaic (WCM) to further expand
plans to invest approximately 6-bn the business. WCM refers to a group
yen ($40-mn) in its Kumamoto site to of functional materials for controlling
expand its electronic materials business. electromagnetic light waves in a broad
range of wavelengths, including photo-
Fujifilm Electronic Materials Co. sensitive colour materials for manufac-
Ltd., the core company that leads Fuji- turing colour filters for image sensors.
film’s electronic materials business, will
install a production facility for colour the image sensor market is expected to In addition, by the end of January
filter materials used in image sensors grow at a rate of 7% per annum. 2024, FFMT Kyushu is scheduled to
at the Kyushu site of its manufacturing begin full-scale operation of a new
subsidiary, Fujifilm Material Manufac- Fujifilm manufactures colour filter production facility for CMP slurries,
turing Co. Ltd. (FFMT Kyushu). This materials for image sensors in Shizuoka, a basic material in semiconductor
facility, expected to start operations Japan as well as in Hsinchu,Taiwan. manufacturing. Fujifilm acquired the
next year, will feature a clean room Fujifilm is also building a new colour semiconductor high purity process
and state-of-the-art quality assessment filter materials production site in chemicals (HPPC) business of US
equipment. Pyeongtaek, South Korea, increasing the semiconductor materials manufacturer,
number of production sites. In addition, Entegris in October 2023. Leveraging
Image sensors, a type of semicon- Fujifilm is promoting the development the resulting strengthening of its broad
ductor that converts light into electrical and introduction of products that target product lineup and global supply struc-
signals for visual display, are used in a wider range of wavelengths beyond ture, as well as its R&D capabilities and
digital cameras, smartphones and other the visible light range by leveraging relationships with customers, the com-
electronic devices. With the recent its expertise in advanced functional pany is targeting 500-bn yen ($3.4-bn)
expansion of image sensor applications molecular technology and nano-disper- in revenues in the global electronic
in automobiles and security devices, sion technology. Fujifilm is introducing materials business by FY2030.
INVESTMENT
Arkema acquires stake in sodium-ion battery tech-

nology start-up

French chemicals firm, Arkema, has dedicated to the production of sodium-
becomes a shareholder of the start-up ion battery cells. An initial tranche of
Tiamat, spun off from the French state 0.7-GWh could be operational by the
research organisation, CNRS (Cen- end of 2025. “The sodium-ion technol-
tre National de la Recherche Scienti- ogy developed by Tiamat is very inter-
fique), and a pioneer in sodium-ion esting, as it will enable to do away with
battery technology. Arkema said the as Stellantis Ventures and MBDA, the dependence to lithium and several
investment will enable it to accelerate Arkema contributed to Tiamat’s re- strategic metals. This operation enriches
the development of technical solutions cent €22-mn fund-raising. Thanks to our ecosystem, and is perfectly in line
adapted to these batteries, which do not these funds and with the support of the with Arkema’s strategy: innovative
use lithium. French Government and the European materials for a sustainable world,”
Union, Tiamat is aiming to build a commented Mr. Armand Ajdari, Arke-
Alongside strategic investors such 5-GWh Giga-factory in France, entirely ma’s Chief Technology Officer.

158 Chemical Weekly January 30, 2024

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