Nikon set to enter photomask glass market

February 8, 2007 – Japan’s Nikon Corp. has invested about 2.3 billion yen (US $19 million) to start producing glass substrates for liquid-crystal display (LCD) photomasks, according to a Reuters report.

The investments include equipment and construction of a new cleanroom at an existing factory in Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo. The company, which had earlier indicated it would open up shop making glass materials for LCD and semiconductor manufacturing, expects the unit to generate 7 billion yen ($58.1 million) in annual sales by March 2010.

Japan’s Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. currently hold more than half of the 20 billion yen ($166 million) market for photomask glass substrates, Reuters noted.

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