Canon to Build Semiconductor Lithography Equipment Plant

Canon will build a plant in Japan that will produce equipment for the first stage of semiconductor production – lithography. According to Nikkeithe cost of the project is estimated at $345 million, including the construction itself, as well as the installation of production equipment.

Canon now produces about 30% of all semiconductor lithography equipment sold in the world. The new plant, according to the Nikkei, will be built in Tochigi Prefecture in eastern Japan. Production there will start in the spring of 2025. Canon currently operates two conductor manufacturing plants in Japan, primarily producing chips for the automotive industry.

The opening of the new plant, according to Canon, will double the total production of semiconductors. In addition, the Japanese company intends to develop a new generation technology – nanoimprint lithography, since the use of existing equipment is associated with high costs and high power consumption. The new technology will also increase production volume and reduce the processing time per chip. Canon calculates that nanoimprint lithography will reduce production costs by 40% and energy consumption by 90%.

According to the Nikkei, sales of semiconductor lithography equipment in 2022 will grow by 29% compared to 2021 to 180 units, four times more than ten years ago. According to World Semiconductor Trade Statistics, the global semiconductor market has already crossed the $500 billion mark and is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2030.

Alena Miklashevskaya