Sumitomo Chemical to Begin Mass Production and Sales of InP Epitaxial Wafers that Support the Evolution of AI Data Centers

Aug. 31, 2026

The Company will Establish a Supply System for Core Materials to Contribute to the Societal Implementation of Photonic-Electronic Convergence Technologies

Sumitomo Chemical has established a mass production system for 4-inch indium phosphide (InP) epitaxial wafers, a type of compound semiconductor, at its Ibaraki Works in Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, and has begun selling these products. As one of the few epi houses in Japan capable of stably mass-producing InP epitaxial wafers, the Company will contribute to the societal implementation of photonic-electronic convergence^* technologies that support next-generation digital infrastructure. The Company also aims to achieve sales of around 10 billion JPY from its InP epitaxial wafer product lineup by the mid-2030s.

With the widespread adoption of generative AI, along with the expansion of IoT and cloud services, and the enhancement of communication network infrastructure, there is growing demand for data processing that is faster and capable of handling larger volumes of data across a wide range of fields. For AI data centers in particular, which handle enormous amounts of information, power consumption and information processing loads have become major global challenges. Photonic-electronic convergence technologies are attracting attention as a key solution to these problems. Among these technologies, InP epitaxial wafers are seeing rapidly expanding use in next-generation data centers and high-speed network fields as a core material for enabling high-performance optical semiconductor devices that efficiently convert electrical signals to optical signals and vice versa. Demand for InP epitaxial wafers is expected to substantially grow in the future.

On the other hand, InP epitaxial wafer manufacturing requires advanced technologies to precisely control material composition and surface conditions in the epitaxial growth process under high temperatures. In addition, sophisticated process management is necessary throughout the entire manufacturing process, including the handling of raw material gases, in order to achieve both stable operations and quality assurance.

To address these challenges, Sumitomo Chemical has brought together its proprietary composition control, thin-film stacking, and crystal growth process control technologies cultivated through its more than 25 years of mass-producing gallium arsenide (GaAs) epitaxial wafers and gallium nitride (GaN) epitaxial wafers. These technologies have enabled the Company to establish a mass production system for InP epitaxial wafers that combines high quality with high productivity.

The launch of mass production and sales of high-quality InP epitaxial wafers that feature a uniform crystal structure, reproducibility in mass production, and uniform film thickness will serve as an opportunity for the Company to build a material supply system that supports the spread of photonic-electronic convergence technologies. Through this, it will accelerate its business development in the ever-growing markets related to AI data centers and high-speed network fields.

Sumitomo Chemical positions the ICT & Mobility Solutions business as one of its growth drivers and is focusing on semiconductor-related businesses as a priority area. Going forward, the Company will add InP epitaxial wafers to its existing lineup of compound semiconductor materials, which includes GaN substrates, GaN epitaxial wafers, and GaAs epitaxial wafers, and further expand its business in growth markets, such as wireless communications, power semiconductors, and data centers. In this way, Sumitomo Chemical will contribute to developing next-generation digital infrastructure and achieving a smart society.

*A next-generation semiconductor and data center technology that enables high-speed, large-capacity data processing and communications while reducing power consumption. This is achieved by using light instead of electricity, which was conventionally used for signal exchange through wiring inside semiconductor chips and data centers, and by integrating electrical and optical circuits.

Contact

Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
Corporate Communications Dept.
https://www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/english/contact/public/