Air Products Continues to Focus on What Matters Most at SEMICON® Europa 2008

The global electronics industry continues to evolve as semiconductor and thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) manufacturers work to supply consumers with the smaller, faster and more powerful electronics devices they demand. At Air Products, we recognise these ongoing demands on the electronics industry and that is why the company continues to focus on what matters most to our customers, namely: value, reliability and innovation. To learn more about Air Products, please visit us at stand 1404 in Hall 1 at the Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre, October 7-9.

Value
Air Products’ more than thirty years experience as a leading supplier of bulk and specialty gases and chemicals enables the company to work with our customers to reduce their total cost of ownership in producing semiconductors and flat-panel displays. Air Products’ global production sites, synthesis and manufacturing expertise, unparalleled global supply chain and our leading position in equipment and services allow us to provide our customers with a competitive price in an increasingly competitive global environment.

Recently Air Products announced that semiconductor manufacturers faced with rising prices for xenon can now recover and reuse this crucial gas, saving time and money in the process, thanks to Air Products new XeCovery™ on-site xenon recovery service.

Reliability
As device manufacturing features continue to miniaturise and become more exacting, reducing variability in material supply is critical. Air Products is able to deliver the most consistent gases and chemicals through our nCtrl™ offering. With nCtrl materials, Air Products supplies products with reduced variation from container-to-container for semiconductor materials by developing specifications based on statistically generated control limits.

In the 1970s, our nitrogen pipeline helped transform an ordinary apple orchard into Silicon Valley. Today, our pipelines travel through the leading Science Parks in Taiwan, China, and Korea, supplying next generation fabs with the high volumes of nitrogen necessary for semiconductor and TFT-LCD production, and as new manufacturing companies emerge, such as those in the Photovoltaic industry. Earlier this year, Air Products announced it signed an agreement with Signet Solar Inc. to supply turnkey installation of gas delivery systems and services and related gas needs for a new, thin-film photovoltaic (PV) module production facility in Mochau, Germany. The long-term agreement includes the supply of hydrogen, helium, nitrogen and argon, as well as specialty gases such as silane, nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) and dopant gases.

Besides production expertise, Air Products is also a leader in the delivery of gases and chemicals to the global electronics industry. As the fabs for both 300mm wafers and TFT-LCDs continue to grow and use more specialty gases, Air Products’ bulk specialty gas system (BSGS) allows the bulk delivery of those gases which not only translates to improved reliability, but also helps further reduce cost of ownership as the bulk deliveries cut downtime and improve safety and productivity at fabs, almost creating a transportable pipeline.

Innovation
The Electronics and Performance Materials business segment of Air Products accounts for more than half of the entire corporation’s R&D spending. This focus on technology development allows Air Products to bring material solutions to our customers that enable them to meet their performance needs.

Air Products’ PDEMS™ material technology is the leading candidate currently being implemented at 45nm by both device and major PECVD equipment manufacturers to meet their need for low k dielectric interconnect material. As PDEMS has seen increased acceptance, the company has been working closely with customers to develop etching, cleaning, and film preparation materials that are compatible with the PDEMS porous dielectric process. With our broad portfolio of leading edge products and our unique short loop integration capabilities we are in the best position to provide complimentary and integrated solutions for our customer’s leading edge processes.

In memory and logic, Air Products has developed a series of high k dielectric materials that combat gate oxide leakage, a major technological hurdle, while meeting customer demand for smaller, faster devices that use considerably less power.

Air Products Electronics is not just focused on new materials, the company also continues to invest in process technology at our manufacturing sites, which can improve yields and also help reduce costs for our customers.

What Matters Most
Air Products continues its journey that began by supplying bulk high purity inert gases and specialty materials to semiconductor customers in the 1970s. As material technology challenges increase, Air Products is finding more opportunities to provide the important technological solutions our customers need. Whether it’s value, reliability or innovation, Air Products is focused on what matters most to its customers today and tomorrow.