As the 2 nm-class nodes are starting to enter volume production, Japanese material suppliers are expanding the capacity of EUV-capable resists and high-purity process chemicals, according to Nikkei. Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (TOK), Adeka, and JSR are building or upgrading fabs for photoresists and metal-oxide resist (MOR) chemistries that improve resolution, line-edge roughness (LER), and etch resistance for extreme ultraviolet patterning. TOK will invest ¥20 billion ($130 million) to add a South Korea photoresist plant (operations targeted for 2030), expanding capacity up to three to four times for packaging and memory customers such as Samsung, TSMC and SK hynix, and a separate ¥12 billion ($78 million) site for high-purity semiconductor chemicals. These chemicals (solvents, developers, surfactants, cleaning agents) are critical for EUV processes where resist sensitivity, contamination control, and outgassing limits directly affect wafer yield and mask lifetime. Adeka's ¥3.2 billion ($20 million) investment will equip its Ibaraki lines for MOR mass production (from ~April 2028), while JSR's MOR facility in South Korea is slated for service by late 2026.

These expansions address bottlenecks unique to EUV lithography technology, such as resist sensitivity vs resolution tradeoffs, defect mitigation and contaminant control. Japan's suppliers already account for the majority of high-end photoresist supply (~91% market share), giving them an edge over competitors that have improved i-line/KrF resist technology but still lag on EUV MOR and process-grade chemical scale-up. MORs contain metal compounds that increase EUV photon absorption and improve pattern transfer: higher absorption reduces dose requirements, and metal-based chemistries can yield better LER and etch durability vs conventional organic resists, a key for sub-2 nm pattern fidelity.