Our research and development (R&D) strategy follows our overall Electronics strategy, which aims to enhance and expand our capabilities, drive organic growth and enable new technology platforms. Our Chief Technology Office (CTO) identifies trends and vets technologies that are beyond the time horizon or scope of our business units. As a dedicated technology organization, the CTO manages research partnerships, shapes our technology roadmaps and manages our long-term R&D portfolio.
We are focusing our R&D capabilities on next-generation semiconductor and optical materials to further strengthen our position as one of the leading suppliers to the electronics industry. Powered by our Materials Intelligence™ platform, our core R&D domains – materials discovery and process integration – address the industry’s priorities: delivering more powerful, more energy-efficient chips while reducing environmental impact. Consequently, sustainability and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are both key focus areas of our R&D.
Our sustainability approach is based on three core pillars that drive our activities: collaboration, innovation and operation.
Collaboration: In the interconnected electronics supply chain, collaboration is crucial for developing and scaling sustainable solutions. Joint action benefits the entire value chain, enabling participants to achieve defined sustainability objectives together. One notable example of collaboration is the ongoing academic research program with Intel Corporation, USA, in Europe. This initiative comprises six projects with currently eleven universities and institutes across six countries. It aims to develop sustainable semiconductor manufacturing solutions through AI and machine learning, focusing on new materials, efficient processes and waste reduction.
Innovation: Our R&D efforts push the boundaries of innovation to create a safer, smarter and more connected world while protecting the environment. One example of our commitment is the development of materials that do not use PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in Patterning. These materials are intended to replace PFAS surfactants in photoresists, solvent-based antireflective coatings and rinse solutions in semiconductor photolithography. For instance, we completed the development of the PFAS-free i-Line (365 nm range) and KrF (krypton fluoride, 248 nm range) photoresists and have begun sampling these materials with several customers, advancing to more mature stages of qualification. We already offer alternative products for some applications.
Operation: We recognize that real change begins with us, starting from our own production processes. We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint to meet our sustainability goals. Our efforts to reduce emissions of NF3 (nitrogen trifluoride) and N2O (nitrous oxide) from our own processes are one such example of our ambition in this area.
Process integration is about fit and scale – proving compatibility of new materials with key industry process modules and moving from lab to fab at volume. Working closely with customers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), we fast-track this process at our Intermolecular site in San José, USA – a highly configurable mini-fab that allows the addition of customer toolsets and process conditions, especially for thin film development. Intermolecular enables on-wafer, data-driven co-optimization, reducing development time for the customer by up to 63%. At the same time, contracted “fab-to-lab” programs to develop new technologies with tier 1 partners and start-ups give us early access to the next wave of innovations.
Semiconductor Solutions
Our R&D team works to ensure that we can supply the materials needed for the high-value steps in wafer processing. To this end, we collaborate with OEMs and device makers to shape the future of digital living, providing material solutions for advanced microchips with complex architectures, improved performance, enhanced thermal control, and greater energy efficiency.
The main R&D programs for our Semiconductor Solutions business units include the following:
Thin Films
In Thin Films, we are continuously expanding our product portfolio for both memory and logic chip customers, placing a key focus on unlocking new R&D opportunities with increasing 3D densification, including gate-all-around transistors and heterogeneous integration.
We are committed to enhancing our offerings by developing cutting-edge material solutions, including molybdenum, ruthenium and cobalt precursors for selective metallization, highly conformal silicon-containing films on complex 3D structures with precise thickness control and enhanced performance, gap-filling materials with low dielectric constants, metal oxide precursors, spin-on dielectric films, and more.
In 2025, to address increasing demand for gap-filling solutions in logic, memory and packaging, we expanded our chemical vapor deposition (CVD) R&D capabilities by investing in the installation of a state-of-the-art fab-like flowable CVD tool at our site in Tempe, USA. As a materials supplier, we now possess the full spectrum of process technologies for gap-filling capabilities.
Additionally, we leverage AI technology to significantly accelerate the development of novel materials development to meet the stringent timelines of our customers. We also collaborate with our OEM partners and customers on area-selective deposition and atomic layer etching to enable innovative, cost-effective and simplified integration schemes for logic and memory technologies.
Formulations (Patterning and Planarization)
The portfolio of the Formulations business field is divided into the areas of Patterning and Planarization.
In Patterning, adding to our aforementioned PFAS-free portfolio, progress on our fluorine-free extreme ultraviolet rinse materials is ongoing, with our second-generation formulation demonstrating comparable performance to legacy products. Notable advances in our fluorine-free top anti-reflective coating are being developed with customer sampling having been initiated and a commercial launch targeted for early 2027.
High numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet lithography requires even flatter substrates due to its reduced depth of focus. Our team developed the inkjettable material used by Canon Nanotechnologies, Inc., USA, in its new inkjet-enabled adaptive planarization technology, introduced to selected customers and innovators in February 2025, thus providing an innovative solution to further decrease waver planarity.
In Planarization, several of our back-end-of-line products have entered advanced stages of qualification for deployment in heterogeneous integration and advanced packaging platforms, reinforcing their critical role in enabling next-generation AI chip systems. This progress is complemented by our continued innovation in high-rate copper processes, which are increasingly vital for the high-performance interconnects in complex chip systems. Additionally, the proliferation of our tungsten solution for dynamic random access memory is accelerating, with notable growth recorded in 2025 compared with 2024. This sustained expansion underscores its importance in supporting advanced memory applications across emerging compute workloads.
Specialty Gases
We have one of the broadest specialty gases portfolios in the market, covering etching, cleaning, deposition, and dopant gases.
We are actively advancing new, climate-conscious, low-emission etching and cleaning gases, including innovative low-GWP (global warming potential) materials, and are broadening the range of applications for these sustainable solutions. Additionally, we are participating in the GENESIS project (GENErate a Sustainable Industry for Semiconductors), a new initiative of the European Union dedicated to fostering a more sustainable semiconductor industry in Europe. Through this project, launched under the European Chips Joint Undertaking, our sustainable specialty gases portfolio will support industry-wide environmental goals and research advancements in electronic systems.
We are also expanding our development efforts into advanced, high-performance etching gases required for the latest semiconductor device structures. Covering a range of different etch applications, we seek to further improve speed and precision, leveraging our expertise in organic and inorganic etch chemistry.
Delivery Systems & Services (DS&S)
To keep pace with the evolving industry, DS&S engages in the development of new equipment and delivery system offerings. These efforts are aligned with chemical materials recently introduced to semiconductor manufacturing and longer-term product evolution roadmaps to enhance competitiveness in the market.
One of the chemical compounds playing a major role for advanced memory and logic chips is molybdenum dichloride dioxide, a corrosive, high-melting solid that requires advanced delivery. We have built a custom bulk delivery system that enables our customers to achieve high precursor flow and utilization of the chemical in the container.
Optronics
Optronics supports customers in developing advanced display technologies for various applications, including TV, IT and mobile devices, automotive displays, and gaming. In collaboration with partners, we are advancing augmented reality and virtual reality, expanding the application of display materials and enhancing user experiences for future immersive devices.
We maintain and expand partnerships with leading panel manufacturers to develop next-generation display products and technologies, focusing on innovative barrier materials that offer superior flexibility, higher reliability and extended lifespans for flexible OLED devices, such as in IT applications.
In addition, we are continuing to work on advancing LCD technology as well as future optical technologies, including LC-on-silicon and material applications for reactive mesogens, such as for Pancharatnam-Berry lenses and head-up displays for use in new virtual and augmented reality devices.
Optical components are becoming increasingly important when it comes to meeting requirements for higher bandwidth and faster data transmission. Optronics is advancing newly required 3D metrology and inspection platforms to enable high-yield heterogeneous integration and advanced packaging.