JSR Corporation Signs Specialty Chemicals Supply Deal for Dholera Fab

JSR's Dholera Deal Brings World-Class Semiconductor Chemistry to India

JSR Corporation, the Japanese specialty chemicals company that is one of the world's two dominant suppliers of semiconductor photoresist alongside TOK, has signed a supply agreement with Tata Electronics covering specialty chemicals for the Dholera wafer fabrication plant. The agreement encompasses advanced photoresist formulations optimised for the Dholera fab's ASML deep ultraviolet lithography scanners, bottom anti-reflective coating materials, and chemical mechanical planarisation slurries used to flatten wafer surfaces between process layers. JSR's inclusion as a Dholera materials partner, alongside Fujifilm, reflects Tata Electronics' strategy of establishing relationships with multiple qualified materials suppliers across each chemical category to ensure supply security and competitive pricing throughout the fab's operating life.

JSR's Position in the Semiconductor Materials Industry

JSR Corporation holds a dominant position in the global semiconductor photoresist market, with its products used in the vast majority of leading-edge chip fabs operated by TSMC, Samsung, and Intel. The company's photoresist formulations are qualified across the full range of process nodes from mature geometries through extreme ultraviolet lithography at sub-5nm, giving it deep process know-how across device types and applications. JSR's chemical mechanical planarisation slurries are used in the interlayer dielectric and metal layer polishing steps that are critical to achieving the planarity required for multi-layer chip interconnect stacks. The company brings to the Dholera relationship not just product supply but an accumulated knowledge base of process optimisation from serving the world's most demanding chip manufacturers, which JSR application engineers will draw on in supporting Tata and PSMC's process development work.

CMP Slurries and Process Technology Context

Chemical mechanical planarisation is a polishing process that combines chemical etching and mechanical abrasion to remove excess material and flatten the wafer surface between successive deposition layers. At 28nm and nearby nodes, the copper damascene metallisation process requires CMP at each metal level to remove excess copper and achieve the flatness tolerances that allow subsequent photolithography to expose fine patterns without focus degradation from surface topology. JSR's CMP slurries for these applications are formulated to achieve uniform material removal rates, high copper selectivity over barrier metals, and low defect generation, all of which directly affect yield and device reliability. Accessing JSR's qualified CMP slurry portfolio from the outset of Dholera's production ramp reduces the process development time that would otherwise be required to qualify alternative slurry suppliers.

Local Blending Evaluation and India Supply Chain Vision

JSR is evaluating the establishment of a local chemical blending and formulation facility in India, similar to the initiative announced by Fujifilm. For photoresist and CMP slurries, local blending from imported base chemicals would reduce the effective lead time for replenishment orders from weeks to days, which is important for maintaining the chemical inventory management discipline that fab yield control requires. A local JSR facility would also create a new category of high-purity chemical manufacturing in India, requiring the establishment of quality management systems, clean handling infrastructure, and analytical chemistry capability that does not currently exist in Indian specialty chemicals manufacturing. The decision on a local facility is expected by 2027, contingent on confirmation of the Dholera fab's production ramp schedule and an assessment of potential demand from any additional Indian wafer fabs that may be announced under Semicon 2.0.