Asahi Kasei has developed a new photosensitive polyimide (PSPI) film designed to support advanced panel-level semiconductor packaging, addressing the growing demand for higher manufacturing efficiency and improved production yields in next-generation semiconductor applications.
As semiconductor packaging technologies continue to evolve toward larger panel formats and increasingly complex multilayer structures, panel-level packaging has emerged as a key approach for improving scalability and cost efficiency. To respond to these industry trends, Asahi Kasei combined the characteristics of its existing PSPI materials and dry film photoresist (DFR) technologies into a newly engineered photosensitive film solution. The company confirmed that the material is currently undergoing customer evaluations and that commercial availability is expected in the near future.
The new PSPI film leverages Asahi Kasei’s expertise in PIMEL™ liquid PSPI materials, widely used for semiconductor buffer coatings and passivation layers, as well as its SUNFORT™ dry-film photoresist technology, commonly used for temporary lithographic circuit patterning on substrates and wafers.
According to the company, the newly developed film is intended to improve semiconductor packaging productivity by enabling more uniform and efficient lamination across large square panels. The material is also designed to support more insulating layers, helping manufacturers meet the increasing complexity of advanced packaging architectures. Potential applications include redistribution layers in semiconductor packages and insulating layers in package substrates.
Asahi Kasei stated that combining the PSPI film with the SUNFORT™ TA series, which supports circuit formation down to 1.0 μm line widths, allows both fine wiring patterns and insulating resin layers to be formed through film lamination processes. The company is also developing additional solutions integrating the PSPI film with the SUNFORT™ CX series to enable the formation of high-aspect-ratio copper pillars required for advanced three-dimensional semiconductor packaging technologies.
The development aligns with Asahi Kasei’s broader strategy to expand its electronics business, identified as a key growth area in the company’s medium-term management plan, Trailblaze Together. Materials such as PIMEL™ PSPI and SUNFORT™ dry film photoresist already play important roles in advanced semiconductor packaging processes.
Demand for high-performance packaging materials continues to increase as AI data centers drive the need for denser chip integration, larger interposers, and more sophisticated packaging structures. The industry transition from wafer-level packaging to panel-level and increasingly three-dimensional packaging architectures is also accelerating the need for finer wiring patterns, additional layers, and higher-performance insulating materials.
