News: Suppliers
24 July 2025
JX to boost InP substrate production capacity by 20%
Tokyo-based JX Advanced Metals Corp is investing about ¥1.5bn (about US$10.2m) to increase its indium phosphide (InP) substrate production capacity by about 20% at its Isohara Plant in Kitaibaraki City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
In the ‘JX Advanced Metals Group Long-Term Vision 2040’ formulated in 2019, the firm positioned its focus businesses, which include advanced materials such as semiconductor and information and communication materials, at the core of its growth strategy. To further expand these businesses, it has been working to build the pillars for next-generation revenue to follow its mainstay products such as semiconductor sputtering targets and rolled copper foil.
InP substrates are expected to be one of these pillars. InP substrates are used in applications including optical communication light-emitting and receiving devices, proximity sensors in wearable devices, and industrial image sensors. As one of few global manufacturers of InP substrates, JX Advanced Metals has been handling this material for over 40 years.
The rapid growth of generative AI in recent years has created a need for massive and high-speed data processing capabilities, leading to a global boom in the construction of hyperscale data centers. With optical communication increasingly being used for data transmission within these data centers, JX says there is growing demand for its InP substrates.
Looking ahead, further development is expected in applications requiring real-time performance, such as generative AI, next-generation communications, autonomous driving, medical care, and entertainment. These will require faster and higher-capacity data processing, as well as increased power consumption. As solutions to these challenges, InP substrates are also expected to be adopted in photonic-electronic convergence technologies, which are being developed as next-generation information and communication infrastructure technologies. If realized, these technologies will not only deliver high performance in such applications but also significantly reduce energy consumption compared with conventional electrical circuits.
JX Advanced Metals has hence decided to proceed with the ¥1.5bn capital investment. Anticipating continued high demand for InP substrates in the future, it is also considering further investments, to be made flexibly as needed.
