May 2, 2001 — LEHIGH VALLEY, PA — Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has entered into the tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) photoresist developer market with the opening of a new blending and packaging facility in Tempe, Ariz.
A wet chemical that makes up the largest segment within the photoresist ancillaries group of products, TMAH photoresist developer is comprised of approximately two percent TMAH in de-ionized water. Semiconductor manufacturers use the product to dissolve exposed positive photoresist following deep ultra violet light exposure. In 2000, the worldwide market for TMAH photoresist developer was estimated to be over $200 million.
In addition to TMAH photoresist developer production, the Tempe facility also houses Air Products’ new Southwest Electronic Chemical Analytical Lab (SwECAL), the company’s first off-site analytical laboratory targeted to the semiconductor industry. The SwECAL — which is equipped with an ISO Class 5 (Class 100) cleanroom to perform full trace metal analysis at parts-per-billion and parts- per-trillion levels, assay of fab chemicals and solvents, anion analysis, particle analysis and various physical tests — has already analyzed over 700 samples from 24 products. The SwECAL currently provides both routine and 24/7 excursion analytical support, while serving as the production lab for the new TMAH photoresist developer plant.
“We are very excited to become a supplier of TMAH photoresist developer to the global semiconductor industry for the next generation of chips and beyond,” said Patricia A. Mattimore, president of APEC. “Our new facility in Tempe is a world-class site combining many of our core capabilities and strengths as an integrated, comprehensive electronic chemicals supplier,” she added.
Via the Tempe facility — which is owned and operated by Air Products Electronic Chemicals (APEC), a business group of the company’s Electronics Division — Air Products has the capability to manufacture over two million gallons of high purity TMAH photoresist developer annually. This includes formulations that contain the company’s high-performance Surfynol surfactants to accommodate customers’ demanding process requirements.