Fujifilm plans to expand capacity to make chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) slurries at its site in Mesa, Arizona, according to C&EN. CMP slurries are used in the planarization step that smooths semiconductor wafers as new layers of circuitry are added.
The $18 million investment will focus on copper interconnect CMP slurries and is scheduled to come on line in 2027. CMP slurries are a specialty electronic chemicals segment where purity and particle-size control are critical.
Fujifilm said it is seeing strong demand for CMP slurries in the advanced logic and memory chip sectors, driven by artificial intelligence applications.
The expansion adds to a wave of electronic materials capacity investment tied to semiconductor fab buildouts in the United States.
