Toppan Photomask increasing capacity and technology capabilities of Shanghai manufacturing JV

SHANGHAI, CHINA: Toppan Photomasks Inc., a subsidiary of Toppan Printing Co. Ltd, has announced plans to expand its Shanghai manufacturing operation to better serve China’s rapidly growing semiconductor industry.

Toppan Photomasks Co. Ltd Shanghai (TPCS) is a joint venture between Toppan Photomasks Inc. and the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology. The $20 million project will significantly increase the company’s capacity to produce photomasks, which are used to manufacture semiconductor devices, while also improving its capability to produce more detailed photomasks with design features as small as 90 nanometers (nm).

The expansion – which includes construction of an additional 4,950 meters2 manufacturing facility adjacent to the company’s existing Shanghai operation – will provide new clean room space as well as enhanced lithography, process, inspection, and repair capabilities. Construction is scheduled to begin in Q1 2012 and to be completed by December 2012. Opened in 1996 as a joint venture between Toppan Photomasks and the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology (SIMIT), the facility currently employs about 160.

“This expansion project demonstrates our commitment to local service and manufacturing of photomasks for the China market,” said Michael Hadsell, Toppan Photomasks’ executive VP for worldwide sales. “As the leading merchant photomask supplier to China’s expanding semiconductor industry, we intend to continue investing in support of our customers’ growth in this key market.”

“Our institute has been Toppan Photomask’s joint venture partner in Shanghai for the past 15 years, and we are pleased to welcome this latest expansion of the operation’s manufacturing capacity and technology capabilities,” said Prof. Xi Wang, SIMIT president and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. “We expect its new 90nm photomask technology to play an important role in further increasing the competitiveness of China’s semiconductor products.”

Toppan Photomasks supplies photomasks to many of China’s leading semiconductor makers and design houses. Wafer fab foundry customers include Shanghai Hua Hong NEC Electronics Co. Ltd, CSMC Technologies Corp., Shanghai HuaLi Microelectronics Corp., Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. Ltd and HeJian Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd.