Electronic chemicals

The electronics industry uses a broad range of highly sophisticated specialty chemicals in many processing steps in the manufacture of electronic components and products, in silicon wafers and integrated circuits, for packaging and printed circuit boards, in the manufacture of compound semiconductors and optoelectronics, and in the production of flat panel display products. Growth in the consumption of integrated circuits process chemicals is driven by increases in installed production capacity and processed silicon wafer surface area, as well as by more expensive chemicals consumed by the new technology nodes.

High purity chemicals have extremely low contaminant levels, in some cases in the parts per trillion or even quadrillion range. Straight acids (H₂SO₄, HCl, HF, CH₃COOH, H₃PO₄, HNO₃) and bases (NaOH, KOH, NH₄OH) are the backbone of wet processes. As device geometries continue to shrink and efforts to reduce defect densities grow, so has the demand for ultra-high-purity chemicals.

Market

The largest integrated circuits process chemical consuming region is Japan, accounting for about 25% of the total, followed by the Republic of Korea (18%), the United States (16%), Taiwan (16%), Europe (12%), China (6%) and other Asian countries (7%).

Manufacturing of electronic chemicals

Most electronic chemicals producers are highly secretive about their production methods. They involve distillation, chemical precipitation, ion-exchange, adsorption, micro-, nano-, and ultra-filtration, coagulation, flocculation, flotation and electrochemical methods.

GAB Neumann’s process equipment

The production of electronic grade chemical involves the use of ultra-pure materials of construction. As a matter of fact, almost only partially (e.g. PVDF) and totally fluorinated polymers (e.g. PTFE, PFA) are used. Thanks to its manufacturing process (sintering at 2300°C or 4200°F) α-silicon carbide is a suitable material for the processing of high purity chemicals.

GAB Neumann provides silicon carbide heat exchangers, to the ultra-pure sulfuric, hydrochloric, hydrofluoric, acetic, phosphoric, and nitric acids manufacturers. In our silicon carbide heat exchangers, the ultra-pure chemicals are only in contact with silicon carbide parts and fully fluorinated parts (gaskets, headers).

Associated products:

Silicon carbide shell and tube heat exchangers

Silicon carbide block heat exchangers

Silicon carbide plate heat exchangers