Our Business

Electronic Materials Business

In its Electronic Materials Business, the Company manufactures and sells such products as high-purity titanium dioxide, which is used as a material for electronic ceramic parts, including multilayer ceramic capacitors, PTC thermistors and dielectric resonators, as well as ultra-fine nickel powder and other functional materials.
    High-purity titanium dioxide is one of the main products in this business, and is characterized by high purity and high dispersion. It is produced by gas phase reaction of titanium tetrachloride and oxygen. Another major product, ultra-fine nickel powder, is manufactured by applying reduction technologies and powder processing technologies developed in our titanium business.
    Products handled in the Electronic Materials Business are widely used in the parts that form the electric and electronic products we find in our daily life, including televisions, personal computers, refrigerators, air-conditioners, car electronics devices, and cell phones.

We’re exploring beyond the cutting edge to promote further advances in electronic ceramic materials.

Our electronic materials business — which has “high-purity titanium dioxide” as its core product — can trace its origins to titanium tetrachloride, an intermediate product in the titanium production process, and its development as a downstream business. With the addition of other new products to our lineup such as ultra-fine nickel powder and functional materials, Toho Titanium continues to evolve and has positioned itself as a comprehensive manufacturer and source for ceramic materials for electronic parts, optical parts and functional materials. As a manufacturer that provides the technology that supports the foundations of the global shift to digital technology and expanding networks, the Company is responding to customer needs and sowing the seeds of cutting-edge technology that will carry the industry into the future.

From seeds of technology to meeting your needs,
and out of new needs, new seeds.

Produced by using high-purity titanium tetrachloride, which is an intermediate product in our own titanium production, and by adopting synthesis technology that does not harm purity levels, our high-purity titanium dioxide has built a solid position as an electronic material product. And in response to the continued expansion of the electronic materials market, we develop and supply a growing diversity of products including ultra-fine nickel powder to satisfy the need for high-function materials. Among the many originally developed technologies of Toho Titanium, the seeds of our powder manufacturing technology are providing a promising foundation that is expected to meet a range of 21st century needs in fields like the environment and energy. And as new needs arise, new technology seeds will be conceived, further driving this positive cycle which both broadens and deepens our technology. Constantly evolving, Toho Titanium aims at further raising the quality and performance of high-function materials, taking both the Company and its customers to the leading edge and beyond.

What are the demands on electronic materials?

With the imminent arrival of the age of ubiquitous computing have come a flood of electronics. Not only telecommunications and video, but also every part of our lives — from riding in our cars or preparing a meal to our education, medical care and leisure — is becoming more involved and dependent on electronics. While factors like the cost and performance of our many products used in this category are very important, the most vital point is the reliability of the quality. For example, 1kg of nickel powder with a particle size of 0.4µm contains over 3,000 trillion particles. When the particle size is reduced to 0.2µm, this quantity is multiplied by 8. However, if only a single non-uniform coarse particle or an impurity finds its way into this material, the electronic parts made with it will fail to operate. That is why Toho Titanium is committed to the highest standards of quality assurance and making sure that our customers can depend on every particle of powder that leaves our plants.

From sub-micron to nano-level technology

Many of our company’s electronic material products are supplied in the form of powders. Over our history, we have been shrinking particle diameter from micron to submicron, and now we are advancing into “nano” level technology. The wavelength of visible light is on the order of 400nm to 800nm (0.4µm to 0.8µm); therefore, individual nano-sized particles cannot be seen by the human eye. However, the reduction of particle size by a decimal place results in dramatic and amazing changes in the properties of powders, and therein lies the wonder and incentive that is inspiring our advance from submicron to nano order technologies. We are setting foot in unexplored domains where we will constantly meet new challenges and make breakthroughs that will result not only in materials that possess superb properties and are easier to use, but also in products that fully exploit their unique functions.

Electro Ceramics Our ceramic products are used in a broad range of products such as multilayer ceramic capacitors, PTC thermistors (thermally sensitive resistor), dielectric filters, piezoelectric ceramics and semiconductor capacitors. While constantly searching for ways to bring revolutionary innovations to this field, for over 4 decades our company has continued to supply quality products that our customers can use with confidence.	Pharmaceutical products Our high-purity titanium dioxide boasts an extremely low level of impurities and high chemical stability. It is widely used as an additive in pharmaceutical products such as coating for sugar-coated pills and additives for medicated adhesive patches.
Ultra-thin electrode materials Toho Titanium has successfully developed original technology for the production of nickel powder with a high purity and excellent crystalline structure as an electrode material for multilayer ceramic capacitors and other electronic components. Taking advantage of superb dispersion capability to control particle size distribution with high precision, we are seeking the limits of thinness to respond to the challenging demands of our customers.	Optical Materials Our titanium-ceramic products are playing a vital role in the achievement of high-refraction lenses and mirrors. In the manufacture of film by sputtering and deposition processes and as an additive for glass manufacture, Toho Titanium’s high-purity products contribute to the realization of a wide variety of products.
Photocatalyst We, TOHO TITANIUM, have developed the photocatalyst, which performs under visible light (fluorescent lamp), with sulfur doped to high purity TiO2 synthesized from TiCl4 produced in our Ti production process. （Joint development with Prof. Ohno at Kyushu Institute of Technology）In addition, our original technology further enabled us to enhance the antimicrobial activity of the photocatalyst. Our photocatalyst is a functional material that can be applied to wide range of uses for sterilizing room space and deleting stink.	Others: Environmental materials; special-function coatings