Mitsubishi Materials to Double Copper Ball Output

Mitsubishi Materials announced on Tuesday the firm doubles output capacity of copper ball for electroplating of semiconductor printed circuit and other applications. The firm expands the production capacity from annual 20,000 tonnes to 40,000 tonnes at Sakai plant in Osaka for 300 million yen completing spring of 2007.The firm produces electroplating copper ball with 55 millimeters, 45 mm, 40 mm, 27 mm and 11 mm of diameter in Sakai. The firm operates the facility at full capacity when the supply is tight, especially for product with 55 mm of diameter. The firm expands the plant building and the output line for 55 mm ball. The copper ball is used for electroplating of printed circuit for electronics devices including cell phone and personal computer. The demand is expected to grow at more than 10% per year in Japan and Southeast Asia when the circuit is getting higher density. Mitsubishi Materials produces copper ball with the original developed oxygen free copper through the integrated manufacturing processes including copper smelting. The copper ball, which has high purity and better plating dissolubility and produces smaller sludge due to the high quality, represents more than 50% of domestic market and 20% in the world.