Bring Us Your Toughest Wet Process Challenge
For more than 30 years, Toho has engineered clean, etch, strip, and develop systems for problems standard equipment can’t solve: sub-micron particles on G10 display panels, photomasks, glass panels for AI chip packaging, space-grade cover glass, and production automotive parts. Built in Japan, installed by veteran Toho engineers from Japan, and supported by local U.S. technicians.
Markets
Built for the Glass Behind AI, Space, and Displays
Glass is moving to the center of advanced semiconductors, and every new application raises the bar on cleanliness. Toho engineers each system around the substrate, the contamination, and the step that follows.
Display and touch panel glass
Architectural and dynamic glass
Space solar arrays
Industrial glass and finishing
AI and HPC
Advanced Packaging Glass
Glass core substrates and interposers are moving to large panels such as 510 × 515 mm. Toho cleans between through-glass via, etch, and metallization steps, on panel formats it has handled for decades.
Lithography
Semiconductor and Photomask
Double sided spin cleaners for lithographic masks up to 1600 × 1800 mm, with quartz masks and reticle blanks engineered to your particle spec.
Cover and optical glass
Space and Aerospace
Cover glass and optical glass cleaning before bonding and coating, where a single particle can cost a solar cell in orbit.
Digital X-ray
Medical and Imaging Sensors
Toho wet scrubbers clean the glass for digital X-ray imaging sensors developed by leading medical imaging companies in North America.
FPD
Display and Cleanroom
Incoming, pre-lithography, pre-deposition, pre-etch, and post-scribe cleaning for leading panel makers, plus compact cleaners for smartphone and cover glass.
Smart glass
Architectural and Dynamic Glass
Removal of packaging film, grease, and shards, pre- and post-process cleaning, and clean, polish, and clean combination machines.
Production parts
Industrial and Automotive Parts
Custom glass and parts washers for automotive suppliers. Heavy duty brushes, polishing, and high pressure Mach-Jet™ remove grease, marker, tape residue, and separator beads.
Labs and qualification
R&D and Pilot Lines
Stand-alone, spin, and compact double decker cleaners, so the process you prove in the lab is the one you scale.
Don’t see your application? If it has to come out of a wet process clean and no one else will take it on, bring it to us. Unusual problems are where Toho does its best work.
Describe Your ChallengeWhy now
Glass Is Moving to the Center of Advanced Chips
AI accelerators are outgrowing organic substrates. Chipmakers and substrate suppliers are building glass core and interposer pilot lines now, and every through-glass via, etch, and metallization step needs a clean, defect-free surface.
Process equipment is bought first, during the pilot line years. Toho brings decades of large-panel glass cleaning to that window.
$1.3B
Glass core substrates, 2026
$14.2B
Glass core substrates, 2036 forecast
$150M to $341M
Glass interposers, 2026 to 2033
$2.9B to $5.6B
Photomask equipment, 2025 to 2033
Sources: Meticulous Research (glass core substrates, including interposers), Persistence Market Research (glass interposers), Grand View Research (photomask equipment). Analyst forecasts vary widely.
Processes
Seven Processes Across the Glass Line
Listed in process order. The first five run on the substrate line. The last two keep photomasks, cassettes, and chamber parts free of cross contamination.
Incoming and pre-process
Substrate Cleaning
In-line and spin cleaners for incoming glass and every pre-process step. Interchangeable brush, Mach-Jet™, ultrasonic, and megasonic modules remove particles down to sub-micron sizes, with UV excimer modules for organic residue. Mach-Jet™ mixes DI water at 0.5 MPa with air at 0.4 MPa; the bubbles burst on impact and lift small particles without scratching.
Key Specs
Applications
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Incoming glass and packaging panel clean
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Pre-lithography and pre-deposition clean
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Pre-etch clean
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Cover glass clean
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Digital X-ray imaging sensor glass
Configuration
A Typical In-Line Process Flow
Every system is assembled from the same modules. The process stage changes with the application; loading, rinse, dry, and unload stay consistent across the line.
Precision cleaning line, simplified. Modules change with the application.
01
Load
Robot, manual, indexed elevator, or loader conveyor, with cassette and panel ID read and recorded against the recipe.
02
Convey
Roller conveyance with lateral guides and automatic width adjustment. A buffer stage prevents cross contamination ahead of chemistry.
03
Process
UV excimer organic removal, chemical or chemical-free cleaning, brush, etch, strip, or develop modules, selected per application.
04
Rinse
Cascade rinse with a separate final cascade supply, Mach-Jet™ two-fluid spray for sub-micron particles, and a final DIW rinse.
05
Dry
High pressure CDA or N2 air knife, with integrated blower and HEPA filtered airflow.
06
Unload
Ionizer bars suppress ESD at unload. Substrates exit dry and ready for the next process step.
Performance
Measured Cleaning Results
Dual sided roll and disc brushes, Mach-Jet™, ultrasonic, and megasonic modules can be combined to match the contamination profile of each step.
Sample data from a prior application: 500 x 500 mm, 0.5 mm thick glass, class 10 clean room, pre-deposition thin film clean.
Etch chemistries
Proven Etchants by Material
Build and control
Options, Construction, and Process Monitoring
Optional Modules
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Hyper Pressure Mach Jet (HPMJ) shower
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Nearly contact-free conveyance
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CO2 insertion for ESD suppression
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Etchant concentration monitor
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Bacteria prevention for DIW lines
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CIM / host PC interface
Quality Build
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Modular PP construction with double glass covers
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Fully enclosed chambers under positive pressure
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Interlocks, leak, exhaust, and over-heat sensors
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Labeled piping and wiring throughout
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N2 purge against bacteria build-up
Process Monitoring
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Panel and cassette ID linked to recipes
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TACT time per process module
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Speed, pressure, and concentration per wet module
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Chemical mix, dispense, and recycle
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Resistivity, pH, and temperature monitoring
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Data and error logging
Formats
Sized to Your Throughput and Footprint
Each system goes through a full pre-assembly spec review, so engineering and material changes are settled before the build starts.
In-Line Production
Automated roller conveyor lines engineered around fab throughput and facility requirements, with multiple glass sizes on one tool as an option.
Spin Process
Spin wash, rinse, and dry in place of an in-line system, for photomasks, cassettes, and applications that need a closed chamber.
Small Glass, R&D, and Low Throughput
Compact in-line cleaners for small glass pieces such as smartphone displays and cover glass, plus stand-alone manual load systems and the limited footprint "double decker" cleaner for pilot lines and labs.
1829
Toho Group · Nagoya, Japan
Engineered and built by Toho
One Partner From Design to Your Fab Floor
Toho Group has been family-owned since 1829. Engineers in Japan design each wet process system around your process. Veteran engineers from Japan lead every installation on your floor, backed by local U.S. technicians for start-up, training, and service.
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Full pre-assembly spec review before the build starts
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Japanese quality standards, high grade materials, low cost of ownership
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The same engineering and assembly team builds complex systems for leading metrology and semiconductor equipment companies
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Measure what you clean: FLX stress, NanoSpec film thickness, and large area profiler lines acquired from KLA-Tencor, Nanometrics, and Zygo
Support and compliance
Installed by Veteran Engineers From Japan, Supported Locally
Veteran Toho engineers from Japan lead every installation and stay on site through start-up, working alongside local U.S. technicians. Training happens at both source and site acceptance, and U.S.-based service, bilingual assistance, and optional remote access keep the line running.
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Preventative maintenance and repair training
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PLC programming support
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NFPA codes and regulations, NEC, OSHA
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CE compliance as needed
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SEMI S2
Bring Us Your Cleaning Challenge
Glass, quartz, metal, or a part no one else will take on. Share the material, size, contamination, and throughput. Photos and drawings help most, and a Toho engineer will propose a configuration and footprint.