Voltaix and Linde Partner to Construct Ultra High Purity Disilane Plant

Voltaix, Inc. a leading manufacturer of specialty materials for the semiconductor and photovoltaic industries, and Linde Electronics, the global electronics business of The Linde Group, announced the signing of an agreement to expand disilane (Si₂H₆) capacity with the construction of a 40 metric ton Ultra High Purity (UHP) disilane plant.

The plant, employing Voltaix patented technology, is located at Voltaix's recently constructed, state-of-the-art manufacturing site in Upper Mt. Bethel Township, Pennsylvania (USA). New capacity is required to meet the global market demand and the plant is now in operation and customer qualification is underway. The two companies are also discussing plans to install disilane supporting infrastructure at a Voltaix site in Asia.

Disilane is a critical material that enables polysilicon to be deposited at lower temperatures with enhanced surface smoothness and increased step coverage versus silane and other conventional silicon precursors. It is used in the production of advanced memory and microprocessor chips, and disilane consumption is projected to grow sharply as device sizes shrink below 20nm.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Peter Smith , Voltaix Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Through the help of one of our key distribution partners, Linde Electronics, Voltaix will become a leading high volume manufacturer of disilane. Disilane is a critical material for low temperature polysilicon deposition in memory and logic device structures. Its versatility enables it to be used in existing batch furnace and single wafer tool sets with a higher deposition rate providing increased throughput versus that of silane."

Holger Kirchner , Head of Electronic Materials, of Linde said, "The increasing demand for low temperature precursors, specifically disilane in electronics fabrication was a key driver in working with Voltaix. Voltaix's expertise in silicon-silicon linkage along with Linde's global presence will provide our customers with an unmatched supply chain of a strategic material."

Source: http://www.voltaix.com/