Seasoning? Ajinomoto, a vital role in IC chip world
Ajinomoto Co., Inc., a major Japanese food company, has the world’s largest share of the umami seasoning market.
For example, in Indonesia, home cooking seasonings, such as Masako(R), Saori(R), and Mayumi(R) are very famous. In Malaysia, a new plant in the Enstek Industrial Park in Negeri Sembilan (state) with an investment of RM355 million (about JPY9.3 billion) obtained JAKIM’s halal certification. It scheduled to begin operations in April 2022.
Ajinomoto is also the world’s leading manufacturer of an insulating material used in CPUs called Ajinomoto Build-up Film (ABF). It now accounts for almost 100% of the market share of all major PCs worldwide.
You probably have never imagined Ajinomoto together with semiconductors (microchip).
Ajinomoto started out as a venture company from Tokyo Imperial University (now the University of Tokyo). The company has been in business for more than 100 years. Dr. Kikunae Ikeda of Tokyo Imperial University extracted glutamic acid from kelp, naming the taste produced as “umami”.
By now, Ajinomoto has evolved into a food and biotechnology company producing seasonings, cooking oils, and pharmaceuticals.
They has then applied their expertise in amino acids to develop the insulating material ABF.
In the past, insulating materials for semiconductors were in ink form. As it was a liquid, it took time and effort to dry. It also had a high error rate.
Ajinomoto’s ABF, on the other hand, is a film that hardens with heat. This means that many of the problems encountered with ink have been greatly improved. The film is widely adopted by technology companies worldwide for its properties.
As the famous Moore’s Law describes, “The performance of semiconductors doubles in 18 months”. Today, the race is on to develop semiconductors at the nanometric level. It has a multi-layered design with multiple layers of circuits. This is where Ajinomoto’s ABF is used.
When you get your hands on the latest device, remember Ajinomoto’s umami seasoning!
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