TSMC to Boost Local Procurement of Photoresist Material; Everlight Chemical to Benefit From Trend

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (2330-TW) (TSM-US) is accelerating the local procurement of photoresist (a light-sensitive material used in several processes) to ensure a stable supply of process-critical materials. 

Everlight Chemical (1711-TW), a domestic photoresist manufacturer, which has expressed support for establishing a local supply chain, is expected to benefit directly from this trend. 

Everlight Chemical provides electronic chemicals including positive and negative photoresist, developer, lapping solution, BM, insulation layer, high reflective layer, side protection adhesive for UV process, and applications, including IC, LCD, LED and more. 

Photoresist is a vital element in the semiconductor supply chain of 12-inch fabs.  

In related news, Everlight Chemical’s PSPI photoresist is also in mass production with Taiwan manufacturers, targeting the electric vehicle market, and has obtained IATF 16949 automotive product quality certification, which will benefit the sales growth of the automotive photoresist. 

Everlight Chemical has further laid out its third-generation semiconductors and working with customers to validate its SiC polishing solution. 

With TSMC’s capacity expansion and growing demand for raw materials, the photoresist supplier set up its first EUV photoresist plant in Taiwan last year and produced more than 1,000 bottles of EUV photoresist in April this year. 

TSMC is actively supporting the local supply chain, and Everlight Chemical, as a photoresist material supplier, will benefit directly from this trend. 

TSMC’s Material Supply Chain Management Division, the Operations Resource Planning Division, and Wafer Fab 12A have conducted a comprehensive inventory of in-fab machine resources based on capacity requirements. 

The goal is to address the high investment cost of photoresist suppliers and facilitate the development of a local supply chain, 

Against this backdrop, TSMC will lease the exposure machine to photoresist suppliers so that they do not need to purchase additional machines to verify the quality of the photoresist. 

Everlight Chemical’s production bases in Taiwan include four plants in Taoyuan and one in Hsinchu. The production capacity of the Suzhou, China factory is less than 10%. 

Taoyuan No. One and No. Two plants account for about 80% of production, while the No. Three plant is close to 90%, according to Everlight Chemical. 

The Hsinchu subsidiary has limited capacity utilization due to labor factors, while China Suzhou plant has a crop rate of about 5-6% due to the lockdown resulting from the pandemic. 

Translated by DB, cnPOST