Creating New Business Lines

In the early 1990s, the need for high reliability in IC packages had made ceramics the material of choice for the industry. We recognized that higher speed, however, would probably be achieved by using plastics, and launched projects to develop and propose plastic IC packages, culminating with their adoption by major semiconductor manufacturers around the world in 1996. Plastic packages have since become the standard for the IC packaging industry.

We first succeeded in the production of high-purity ß-SiC powder in 1979, as a technology based on our steel alloy technologies, and steady expansion in the range of application led to the development of the porous SiC-DPF (diesel particulate filter) in the early 1990s. In the year 2000 it was adopted as the first automotive SiC-DPF in the world. In parallel with this effort, research and development programs into ceramic fiber forming technology successfully developed automotive catalytic carriers and substrate holding mat, making it possible for the company to propose new exhaust system components to automotive manufacturers. Today our automotive exhaust system components (DPF) have grown into a major pillar of corporate profitability for IBIDEN, joining IC packages and printed wiring boards.

An early Plastic Package

Substrate Holding Mat

DPF