BOC Edwards, a major supplier of materials, equipment and services to the global microelectronics industry, announced it will supply fluorine gas to Hynix Semiconductor, Inc. for its 300 mm semiconductor manufacturing facility in Ichon, South Korea. Due to its zero-impact on global warming, fluorine is fast becoming the next-generation material for cleaning CVD (chemical vapor deposition) chambers used in the manufacture of 300 mm semiconductor wafers.

Supply of fluorine in high-pressure cylinders is often considered unacceptable by end users due to cost, handling, and safety concerns. Hynix management said the leadership of BOC Edwards in fluorine generation technology, combined with their dedicated on-site support, would give them a low-cost, pure, safe and reliable alternative to cylinder supply.

“We are pleased that Hynix has selected BOC Edwards to supply fluorine gas at the Ichon facility,” commented Noel Leeson, president of electronic materials for BOC Edwards. “Our commitment to on-site fluorine generation allows us to offer customers a substantial reduction in the cost of supply compared with cylinder fluorine.”

Hynix is the sixth customer to install a BOC Edwards Generation-F™ fluorine system for use in semiconductor or LCD manufacture.