Linde LienHwa, a key supplier of gases and chemicals to the electronics industry, continues to invest with its customers in Mainland China and Taiwan. On-site nitrogen generator plants are an early, tangible and significant demonstration of commitment to individual customers as they plan and execute new semiconductor and display panel plants.
The company is also expanding its production of electronic special gases (ESGs). This enhances its portfolio to meet the growing demand of local customers in the semiconductor and display industries. Linde LienHwa is leveraging access to global expertise to build first-in-kind capabilities in Taiwan to innovate locally for customers.
In March, Linde LienHwa will highlight its position in the electronics material sector with presentations by its executives at two industry forums held in Shanghai. The company invites customers and others in the electronics industry to visit its booth at the SEMICON China trade show for one-on-one discussions about their requirements and how Linde LienHwa is their local partner with global expertise.
Investing and growing with customers in Mainland China with on-site nitrogen production
Mainland China has made a large commitment to the electronics industry through the Sino IC Industry Investment Fund, more commonly known as The Big Fund. This has spurred an unprecedented number of new semiconductor and display projects launch in 2017, on top of very active preceding years in 2015 and 2016.
Nitrogen gas is used in high volumes at these facilities in almost all manufacturing steps to purge and inert chemically sensitive processes. For most facilities, it is much more economical to produce the required volume of nitrogen on-site, rather than to supply the gas by truck delivery. On-site nitrogen generators are built at an early phase of each project because nitrogen is required to be ready before the facility equipment arrives.
SPECTRA-N® nitrogen generators from the Linde Engineering division of the Linde Group support customers with their high quality products, flexible capacity and production and energy efficiency. These plants are designed, fabricated and executed by teams located in Hangzhou and Dalian, China.
Linde LienHwa has been successful in addressing the market needs with a number of new project signings. “These wins were punctuated in 2017 by a Linde LienHwa commitment of over RMB 1.5 billion investment in on-site gas production and bulk gas installations for electronics customers in Mainland China, which will fuel electronics revenue growth for us over the next five years,” said Stan Tang, President of LLH China. “This is only possible with a strong network of bulk gas production plants and fleet delivery throughout Mainland China, which back-up the on-site nitrogen plants as well as offer competitive supplies of oxygen, argon, hydrogen and other products.”
GeH4 precision blending and filling at Taichung Harbor
Linde LienHwa’s capability for blending and filling of germane in Taichung Harbor is the first and only of its kind in Taiwan. The facility produces mixtures between 1 to 20% germane in ultra-high purity hydrogen with extreme precision and state-of-the-art analysis. Germane-hydrogen mixtures are used by leading-edge semiconductor companies to make the most critical elements of computer chips, and precision of the blend is essential to making a working device.
Fluorine production at Guanyin
Another first in Taiwan is Linde LienHwa’s production of electronics-grade fluorine in Guanyin, a district of Taoyuan City. This special high-purity grade of fluorine is produced using generators from Linde developed for the electronics industry. The fluorine is typically blended with nitrogen or other inert gases, packaged in cylinders and used by electronics customers to remove particles and unwanted deposits from the interior surfaces of manufacturing tools.
Local partner. Global expertise.
“By investing locally in material processing, we are significantly reducing the supply chain risk and increasing material availability for our customers,” notes Alex Tong, President of Linde LienHwa. “These new facilities represent the latest phases in our commitment to expand ESG production in both Taiwan and China.”
Linde LienHwa maintains an extensive network of on-site gas production, bulk gases for electronics customers, ESGs, ultra-pure wet chemicals, chemical production and stocking facilities. Linde LienHwa offers a widest number of electronics materials. Its products enable leading-edge manufacturing in the semiconductor, solar, display and solid state lighting/LED industries.
Linde Electronics, its global partner, is the electronics materials and service business of The Linde Group, an industry leader in the industrial gas sector. Linde Gas operates in more than 100 countries, with world-class R&D centers, including its newest Electronics R&D Center in Taichung Harbor, Taiwan.
SEMICON China and the Global Semiconductor Forum
Linde LienHwa will be exhibiting at the SEMICON China tradeshow in Shanghai 14-16 March 2018. Its focus will be on the quality, expertise, service and technical leadership that Linde LienHwa and its global partner Linde Electronics bring to the semiconductor industry through such offerings as electronic specialty gases, bulk gases for electronics customers and on-site solutions like SPECTRA-N nitrogen plants.
Anshul Sarda, Vice President of Electronics Special Gases for the Linde Group, will be speaking at the SEMICON China Win-Win: Build China’s IC Ecosystem forum, for which LLH is a sponsor, on 15 March in the Pudong Ballroom of the Kerry Hotel. His talk entitled “Integrating domestic and international electronic material solutions” given at 16:00 will explain the challenges of materials supply in a dynamic landscape of established and newly-launched customers and material producers.
Dr. Anish Tolia, Vice President of Global Marketing for Linde Electronics, will be speaking at the Global Semiconductor Forum on 9 March at the Grand Kempinski Hotel in Shanghai. His workshop entitled “Supplying China: Combining local partnerships with global expertise by electronic material providers” will instruct on how material providers can adapt global experience in supply chains to the burgeoning opportunities and requirements of the China electronics market.