en.Wedoany.com Reported - HanWool Semiconductor, a specialized manufacturer of electronic component inspection equipment, has signed a joint development project with Murata Manufacturing, the world's largest manufacturer of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), to jointly advance the development of MLCC manufacturing equipment. The equipment is planned to be deployed in Murata's mass production factories.
Murata has traditionally developed and manufactured its own production equipment to prevent technology leakage, making this collaboration with an external equipment supplier a notable industry development. According to industry sources on June 17, HanWool Semiconductor recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Fukui Murata for the joint development of manufacturing equipment. Fukui Murata is a manufacturing subsidiary of Murata Manufacturing and the group's largest MLCC production base in Japan, often referred to as the "mother factory," responsible for developing new products, mass production processes, and production equipment. Technologies and equipment validated at Fukui Murata are subsequently rolled out to Murata's other global manufacturing sites.
An industry insider stated that Murata, facing tight MLCC supply and seeking rapid capacity expansion, recently approached HanWool Semiconductor. Since Fukui Murata is the group's mother factory, successful completion of this project could lead to broader deployment across Murata's global operations. During the fiscal year 2025 earnings call on April 30, Murata announced plans to invest an additional approximately 80 billion yen in capital expenditure during fiscal years 2026 and 2027 to expand MLCC capacity for artificial intelligence data center applications. Nagato Omori, General Manager of Murata's Ceramic Capacitor Division, previously noted that AI data center products require advanced technology and large-scale production capabilities, limiting the number of suppliers capable of serving this market. Demand could grow significantly over the next two to three years, making stable supply more important than price.
The jointly developed equipment is the MFS (Margin Formation Slim) mounter, a simplified version of the margin formation process in advanced MLCC manufacturing. MLCCs are made by stacking hundreds of ceramic sheets printed with internal electrodes. In conventional designs, electrodes do not extend to the sheet edges to prevent short circuits, and the unprinted edge area is called the margin. Since the electrode-containing center portion is thicker than the margin, stacking hundreds of sheets creates height differences, leading to warping during compression and reducing capacitor reliability. The margin formation process extends electrodes across the entire sheet width, then applies a thin ceramic layer to the cut edges to form the margin structure, thereby increasing the effective electrode area, boosting capacitance, and reducing reliability issues caused by electrode deformation.
Traditional margin formation processes require multiple production stages and separate equipment, whereas the MFS mounter aims to integrate several process steps into a single platform, improving manufacturing efficiency and reducing defects caused by material transfer between processes. Because the system consolidates multiple production stages into one piece of equipment, its design and implementation are considered technically challenging. If the project is successfully deployed commercially, HanWool Semiconductor would become a supplier to both Murata, the world's largest MLCC manufacturer, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, the second-largest. Industry sources noted that Murata is seeking rapid equipment development, and if HanWool Semiconductor successfully meets customer requirements, it could secure substantial orders. A representative from HanWool Semiconductor declined to comment, citing confidentiality obligations related to discussions on customer equipment development and supply.
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