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AI supply chain term

CMP (Chemical Mechanical Planarization)

CMP (chemical mechanical planarization) is the process fabs use to grind and polish a wafer perfectly flat between chip-building steps.

What it means

Chemical mechanical planarization, or CMP, combines a chemically reactive slurry with a spinning polishing pad to flatten the surface of a wafer after each layer of circuitry is added. Modern chips stack dozens of patterned layers on top of one another, and each must start from an atomically flat surface or the next lithography step cannot focus correctly. CMP consumes ultra-pure slurries, abrasives, and pads on every wafer pass, so it belongs to the process-chemicals segment of the AI supply chain, a recurring high-volume input rather than a one-time tool. Supply of these specialty consumables is concentrated among a few Japanese and Korean chemical makers. Because leading-edge and 3D-stacked devices require more polishing steps, CMP materials scale directly with advanced-chip volume, making them a quiet but persistent constraint.

Why it matters to investors

CMP slurries and pads are consumed continuously, giving their makers steady, volume-linked demand as advanced-chip output rises. Fujimi and JSR are established slurry suppliers, while Shin-Etsu and Tokyo Ohka Kogyo anchor Japan's broader grip on fab consumables, a supply base concentrated enough that disruption ripples across every foundry.

Companies on this part of the chain

Fujimi Incorporated5384.TJSR CorporationShin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.4063.TTokyo Ohka Kogyo4186.T

Named to show where the term sits in the AI supply chain — research, not advice, and never a recommendation to buy or sell.

Related terms

PhotoresistPhotoresist is the light-sensitive chemical coating fabs spread on a wafer so that a lithography tool can transfer a circuit pattern into it.Specialty gasesSpecialty gases are the ultra-pure gases fabs use in etching, deposition, cleaning, and doping to build and shape the layers of a chip.Wafer fabA wafer fab is the specialized factory where raw silicon wafers are processed into finished semiconductor chips.YieldThe share of chips on a wafer that work; low yield means fewer usable parts.

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THE ENTITY is an educational read on the AI supply chain — research, not investment advice. It explains how the chain works and who sits where, never price targets or buy/sell calls.