HanWool Semiconductor, a specialist in electronic component inspection equipment, has launched a joint development project with Japan’s Murata Manufacturing to create MLCC manufacturing equipment that will eventually be deployed in Murata’s mass-production facilities.
This move is catching attention because Murata has historically developed and built its own production equipment internally to prevent technology leakage. Industry observers see collaboration with an external equipment supplier as highly unusual for the company.
According to industry sources on June 17, HanWool Semiconductor recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Fukui Murata for joint equipment development.
Fukui Murata, located in Japan’s Fukui Prefecture, is Murata Manufacturing’s manufacturing subsidiary and serves as the group’s largest domestic MLCC production base. Often called Murata’s “mother factory,” it handles new product development, mass-production processes, and production equipment. Technologies and equipment validated at Fukui Murata are then deployed across other Murata manufacturing sites worldwide.
“Murata has been seeking rapid capacity expansion to address tightening MLCC supply and has recently engaged with HanWool Semiconductor,” an industry source explained. “Since Fukui Murata serves as the group’s mother factory, successful completion of this project could lead to broader deployment across Murata’s global operations.”
During its fiscal 2025 earnings briefing on April 30, Murata announced plans to invest around 80 billion yen in additional capital expenditures during fiscal years 2026 and 2027 to support demand for data center capacitors. The company said this investment would primarily expand MLCC production for artificial intelligence data center applications.
The equipment being jointly developed is understood to be an MFS Mounter, a streamlined version of the margin formation process used in advanced MLCC manufacturing.
MLCCs are made by stacking hundreds of ceramic sheets printed with internal electrodes. In conventional designs, electrodes don’t extend to the edge of the sheet to prevent short circuits. This unprinted edge area is called the margin.
Because the center section with electrodes is thicker than the margins, stacking hundreds of sheets can create height differences that lead to warpage during compression. Distorted electrodes can reduce capacitor reliability and increase the risk of failure at lower operating voltages.
The margin formation process solves this by extending electrodes across the full width of the sheet and then attaching thin ceramic layers to the cut edges to create the margin structure. This approach increases effective electrode area, improves capacitance, and reduces reliability issues caused by electrode deformation.
The margin formation process traditionally requires multiple production stages and separate pieces of equipment. The MFS Mounter being developed by HanWool Semiconductor and Murata integrates multiple process steps into a single platform, improving manufacturing efficiency while reducing defects from material transfer between processes.
Because the system combines several production stages into one tool, it’s technically challenging to design and implement.
If the project moves to commercial deployment, HanWool Semiconductor would become a supplier to both the world’s largest MLCC manufacturer, Murata, and the second-largest producer, Samsung Electro-Mechanics. Industry sources familiar with the matter said Murata is seeking rapid equipment development, and HanWool Semiconductor could secure substantial orders if it successfully meets the customer’s requirements.
