Driving semiconductor advancements with MANAC products – Developing the next-gen resist raw material “TIP” through a synergy of research and marketing
【CAS No.】609-23-4
【Chemical name】2,4,6-Triiodophenol
【Chemical formula】C6H3I3O
Semiconductors are found in virtually any product that uses electricity. Even currently trending areas such as generative AI and decarbonization rely heavily on semiconductors, and R&D efforts are underway globally to advance their performance and achieve smaller sizes.
These trends underscore the importance of ensuring a stable supply of the materials required to manufacture semiconductors. In some cases, cutting-edge semiconductors need materials that differ from those used to manufacture conventional semiconductors, and so many companies have started working to secure such materials.
MANAC markets its own “TIP,” an iodine compound crucial to cutting-edge semiconductors. Takahiro Yamazaki, in charge of TIP sales in Tokyo, has played a vital role in this process.
So just how did MANAC’s highly anticipated TIP come to be? And what kind of strategies is MANAC using to take on the semiconductor industry? We spoke with Mr. Yamazaki to find out.
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Drawing from both research and sales experience to develop MANAC products
Mr. Yamazaki currently handles the sales of MANAC’s fine chemical products. Many may assume someone in sales has a non-technical background, such as in liberal arts. However, Mr. Yamazaki is a researcher who is educated in the sciences. When he first joined the company, Mr. Yamazaki was involved with research and development at MANAC’s Fukuyama Factory.
“After joining MANAC, I worked in research and development for about two years and then handled sales in Tokyo for three years. Then, I returned to the Fukuyama Factory, where I worked in research for roughly 10 years. In 2022, I returned to Tokyo to work in sales again. I have a rather unique career even within the company,” explains Mr. Yamazaki. “Carrying out sales activities from a researcher’s perspective allows me to approach customers’ technical issues and needs with a deep understanding. I feel that this greatly helps to win the trust of customers.”
MANAC’s Fine Chemical Division strives to produce customers’ desired products through contracted development. Therefore, Mr. Yamazaki has handled many projects involving contracted development while working in sales.
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Mr. Yamazaki also explains how he maintains a keen awareness of the importance of contracted development while actively applying the knowledge gained through sales activities to further develop and market MANAC products.
“The marketing and research processes differ slightly between contracted development and MANAC products. For example, since contracted development is offered as a service to solve problems for a specific customer, we cannot sell the products achieved with contracted development to other companies. On the other hand, we set the specifications and seek out our own customers for MANAC products. And above all, jumping right into developing an original product from scratch is a tremendous feat. Therefore, applying the knowledge gained from contracted development to MANAC’s own product development and marketing enables us to expand the opportunities and broaden the mindsets of sales personnel and researchers. If we can then receive requests for contracted development from the customers gained through such expansion, we can form a cycle of taking on contracted products, working on MANAC products, and then taking on more contracted products. I expect that MANAC will experience further growth from this cycle. Moving forward, I intend to draw from both research and sales perspectives to focus on the development and marketing of MANAC products more than ever before.”
Exploring MANAC’s key “TIP” gaining attention from the semiconductor industry
Simple molecules like TIP are used as “parts” to create large, complex molecules. In other words, coupling TIP with other molecules allows for producing a wide range of compounds. Currently, the TIP compound is used in this capacity in many fields, including pharmaceuticals and electronic materials.
Furthermore, TIP is gaining attention for its novel use as a raw material crucial to manufacturing photosensitive materials known as “resists.” Resist materials made with TIP can be used to manufacture cutting-edge semiconductors containing extraordinarily tiny circuits. For this reason, TIP is considered a crucial material for further advancements in the semiconductor industry.
See this article to learn more about the characteristics and applications of TIP.
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Pushing through failure to succeed in developing high-quality, low-cost TIP
The story behind the development of MANAC’s TIP began in 2022 when a customer approached Mr. Yamazaki with a specific issue.
“This particular customer was struggling, reporting to me that, ‘There aren’t any manufacturers marketing high-quality TIP.’ At that time, TIP was becoming a promising raw material for the resist materials used in cutting-edge semiconductors, with the potential to be widely used in other fields as well. That’s why we began exploring the possibilities of developing high-quality TIP at MANAC.”
However, development would turn out to be even more difficult than was anticipated. The TIP initially developed did not reach the quality required by customers, preventing its launch into the market as a product.
“We had to put the project on hold for the time being. But seeing promising applications in store for TIP, we made it a point to ensure we could capitalize on the next opportunity. We did this by collaborating closely with our research branch to conduct a comprehensive analysis and uncover the reasons behind our initial TIP’s failure to achieve the required quality. During this process, we reviewed and revised each and every factor, including solvents, heating temperatures, purification methods, and iodinating agents. There were several occasions where we almost gave up, but somehow we got back up on our feet and kept marching forward with development.”
It certainly paid off to push through the difficulties as the team succeeded in manufacturing a high-quality TIP at a low cost. Finally, MANAC’s masterpiece was born: TIP of over 99% purity, ready for use in the semiconductor field.
MANAC has been providing samples of its high-quality, low-cost TIP to many customers, including those in the semiconductor field, and is currently undergoing evaluation. “As we continue such efforts, we have been getting increasingly more inquiries about TIP from semiconductor-related companies. I am experiencing first-hand just how much anticipation there is for TIP as a next-gen resist raw material.”
One of MANAC’s strengths is its ability to provide a stable supply of iodine, a raw material of TIP. MANAC collaborates with affiliated companies and maintains facilities and processes that enable the continuous manufacturing of low-cost, high-purity TIP, even with the ongoing global shortage of iodine supplies. In fact, this is a major advantage for MANAC in its manufacturing of TIP.
“We can provide customers TIP whenever they need it at the amount they require. Since we’ve built this rock-solid manufacturing framework, I can proudly market our TIP as a MANAC masterpiece.”
Seeking to contribute to the semiconductor industry through both contracted development and MANAC products
Mr. Yamazaki describes how there is also a strong need for contracted development from the resist materials areas targeted by TIP.
“I often hear from customers in resist materials areas that they need rather complex compounds, not simple compounds like TIP that can be used as ‘parts.’ In such cases, manufacturing these complex compounds requires us to coordinate with the customer through contracted development. That means that meeting customers’ needs in the resist industry requires a combination of MANAC products with contracted development. MANAC seeks to contribute to the resist industry through these two pillars.”
Mr. Yamazaki has set out to leverage the knowledge gained through research to lead MANAC’s marketing and contribute to the advancement of semiconductors, an endeavor that he has only just begun.
