News
Industry & Technology Trends
PMAT publishes industry trends, technical explainers, supply-chain perspectives, and regulatory and market information related to advanced materials.
Latest Article
Amid the AI Investment Boom, Is Japan's Semiconductor Industry Overheated—or Still Expanding?
Semiconductor shares are being repriced even as Japanese companies continue to expand capacity. This article separates changes in market expectations from real demand and capital investment.
Read MoreArticle Archive
Critical-Mineral Supplies to Japan Tighten Sharply: Is the Real Semiconductor Bottleneck Resources—or Usable Materials?
The key constraint in critical minerals is often not geological availability, but whether separated, refined, purified and qualified materials can reach semiconductor production when needed.
The Renminbi Nears a Three-Year High: Will Southeast Asia and India Replace Chinese Manufacturing?
This article looks at how a stronger renminbi affects Chinese export economics and how far production can realistically diversify into Southeast Asia and India without moving the entire upstream supply chain.
U.S. Battery Tariffs on China Enter a New Phase: What Will Actually Change in Japan–China Battery Trade?
As U.S. tariffs on Chinese battery products enter a new phase, this article examines what may actually change in Japan–China battery trade through final-market segmentation, origin rules and upstream material dependence.
How to define silica specifications for semiconductor packaging: Fused, spherical, and low-alpha requirements and supplier–buyer alignment
For packaging-grade silica, “fused,” “spherical,” and “low-alpha” describe material structure, particle morphology, and radioactive-emission control, respectively. From both supplier and buyer perspectives, this article explains how these requirements are translated into specifications, test methods, and application validation, and outlines how Chinese GB/T, Japanese JIS, ISO, and JEDEC methods can be aligned in cross-border supply.
Why spherical silica is well suited to high-filler-loading semiconductor packaging: The role of packing density, viscosity, and particle-size design
Spherical silica is an important filler for achieving high filler loading in EMC, molded underfill, and liquid encapsulation materials. This article explains how spherical SiO₂ can balance CTE control and process flowability at high filler loadings by considering interparticle flow resistance, packing density, particle-size distribution, coarse-particle control, and surface treatment.
Why low-alpha silica is used in memory and high-reliability semiconductor packaging
Low-alpha silica helps reduce the contribution of alpha particles from semiconductor packaging materials by controlling radioactive impurities such as U and Th and by managing alpha-emission performance. This article explains the soft-error mechanism, the distinction between low-alpha and low-U control, material test methods, and the alignment of supplier and buyer specifications for semiconductor packaging.
DMC, EMC, and DEC: What’s the difference? How to choose linear carbonate solvents for lithium-ion battery electrolytes
DMC, EMC, and DEC are widely used linear carbonate solvents in lithium-ion battery electrolytes, but they differ in viscosity, low-temperature fluidity, volatility, and boiling point. This article explains how their roles differ from both formulation and procurement perspectives, and highlights selection criteria such as water content, acidity, impurities, and batch-to-batch consistency.
EC vs. PC: Why do two high-dielectric solvents behave differently with graphite anodes?
EC and PC are both high-dielectric cyclic carbonate solvents used in lithium-ion battery electrolytes, but they behave differently with graphite anodes. This article explains the selection logic from the perspectives of dielectric properties, melting point, SEI formation, solvent co-intercalation risk, and full-formulation validation.
VC or FEC? How to select electrolyte additives for graphite and silicon-carbon anodes
VC and FEC are both film-forming additives for lithium-ion battery electrolytes, but graphite and silicon-carbon anodes fail at the interface in different ways, which changes the screening priority. This article explains how SEI formation, anode material, base electrolyte, full-cell validation, and procurement quality criteria jointly determine how VC and FEC should be selected.
Battery-grade NMP vs. general-purpose NMP: What’s the difference? What should procurement specifications focus on?
“Battery-grade NMP” cannot be judged from a single purity number. Suppliers may use different grade names, including Battery Grade and Electronic Grade, so practical procurement should compare water content, trace metals, color, batch consistency, analytical methods, and packaging and delivery conditions. This article explains how to translate the term “battery grade” into measurable and auditable procurement specifications.
Why NMP remains an important process solvent for lithium-ion battery cathode manufacturing Its value in PVDF dissolution, slurry stability, and high-volume production
NMP is an important process solvent in PVDF-based wet cathode slurry systems for lithium-ion batteries. Its value comes not only from its ability to dissolve PVDF, but also from the mature process infrastructure built around slurry control, coating, drying, recovery, and re-purification. When purchasing battery-grade NMP, buyers should evaluate impurity control, batch consistency, compatibility with existing production lines, and solvent-recovery systems from both a process-material and total-cost perspective.