OTHER ELECTRONICS & NANOTECHNOLOGY

INDUSTRY UPDATE

 

May 2018

McIlvaine Company

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Facility Profile: Columbia University Nano Initiative Cleanroom Renovation

Size: 5,000 sq. ft.

Project team: Protecs (construction management)

Columbia University recently completed the renovation and expansion of its existing clean micro and nano fabrication and characterization research laboratories. Replacing and improving lab utilities, such as air filters, gas piping, water cooling systems, and air handling units to allow for tight control on temperature, humidity, and particles in the new lab, almost doubled the previous space.

The cleanroom (Class 1,000 to Class 10,000) is open to researchers from inside Columbia University as well as from other academic and industrial institutes. The laboratory supports materials and device studies in physics, electrical engineering, applied physics, mechanical engineering, biology, chemistry, medicine, and more. A significant portion of the research done in the CNI cleanroom is interdisciplinary in its nature and involves collaboration between researchers from various fields on and off campus.

The new CNI Cleanroom is divided into 7 separate bays, each dedicated to a set of related fabrication processes consisting of many new and advanced micro and nanofabrication pieces of equipment:

Optical lithography bay consisting of dedicated fume hoods and spinners, two mask aligners (one for DUV applications), two mask fabrication systems: a manual Laser Writing and Mask Fabrication system (3µm resolution), and an automatic Laser Writer system with submicron resolution.

Wet chemical bay with an automatic RCA bench, Spring Rinse Dry (SRD) system for 4" wafers, general acid hood, and general base hood for wet chemical processes.

Plasma bay with Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) plasma processing based on chlorine and fluorine chemistries, as well as Deep RIE for silicon etching, and Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) for Oxide and Nitride deposition.

Deposition bay including two sputtering systems (dedicated to metals and dielectrics respectively), an e-beam evaporator, Atomic Layer Deposition, and a thermal evaporator, all designed to grow high quality thin films.

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) bay (with e-beam writing capabilities) with nanometric imaging capabilities.

Furnace bay with Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition (LPCVD) to grow: silicon oxide, nitride, carbide, and for thermal treatments.

Backend room consisting of a Dicing saw, Chemical Mechanical Polishing system for planarizing device surfaces, Wire bonders (Al and Au) for electrical connections to the device, a Parylene coater, and a Critical Point Dryer.

Completion date: Q3 2017

 

The Georgia Tech Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology (IEN)

The Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology (IEN) is one of the founding NSF interdisciplinary academic research centers dedicated to nanotechnology discovery and development. The IEN evolved from its original focus as a NSF Microelectronics Research Center (founded in 1981) at Georgia Tech’s Atlanta campus. In 2009, the name was changed to the Nanotechnology Research Center (NRC) to reflect its physical expansion into the Marcus Nanotechnology Building (MNB) and research expansion into the growing realm of nanotechnologies applications.

More recently, as part of Georgia Tech’s (GT) push to consolidate capital-intensive research, the NRC was combined with similarly-themed research centers (including NSF-funded graphene research, the Packaging Research Center, and the Georgia Electronic Design Center) to form an interdisciplinary research hub on campus, the IEN. Over the years, Georgia Tech has used these centers and their associated facilities to become the one of the world leaders in nanoscale science and engineering, with research programs spanning biomedicine, materials, electronics, photonics/optics, and energy. The IEN is comprised of multiple academic electronics and nanotechnology research centers, each offering a unique intellectual focus ranging from basic discovery and innovation to systems integration. The IEN has approximately 115 GT faculty users and more than 500 GT student users as well as nearly 200 users from other academic institutions and industries. Through the NSF’s National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN), IEN facilities are accessible to all U.S. academic users at the same price afforded by campus-based faculty.

The IEN runs one of the largest university cleanroom complexes in North America. The IEN’s core mission is to provide exceptionally high value, fee-based open user access to research cleanrooms and laboratories at its core facilities. The IEN cleanroom has two on-campus locations: the Pettit Microelectronics Building (PMB), opened in 1988; and the Marcus Nanotechnology Building (MNB), opened in 2009. Together, these two facilities provide fully integrated electronics/materials cleanrooms; separate biological cleanroom space; a state-of-the-art characterization and microscopy suite housed in a vibrationally and acoustically shielded space; and supporting labs, equipment, and technical expertise. The expanded space enables Georgia Tech faculty, students, and non-GT users from academia, state and federal labs, and industry to carry out pioneering nanoscale research. Both the Pettit and Marcus facilities include significant laboratory space that house faculty research labs immediately proximate to the cleanroom and microscopy facilities.

Pettit houses an 8,500 sq. ft. cleanroom (Class 10-100), while the Marcus building includes 10,000 sq. ft. of inorganic fabrication cleanroom space (Class 100) as well as 5,000 sq. ft. of biological cleanroom space (Class 1000), including Biosafety Level 1 and 2 labs. The inorganic and organic cleanrooms are adjacent so that researchers can transfer their samples without exposing them to a non-cleanroom environment. This novel design enables a seamless fusion of traditional, top-down microfabrication approaches (e.g. optical and electronbeam lithography) and various types of bottom-up self assembly approaches (typical biologically-derived) to nanotechnology research at Georgia Tech. The Marcus building also houses a newly-completed 3,300 sq. ft. imaging and characterization suite that offers comprehensive microscopy and imaging services, as well as X-ray and ion-based characterization, for a wide variety of materials and devices.

The IEN cleanrooms and labs accommodate over two hundred individual pieces of equipment, which enable users to run an extensive variety of materials growth and fabrication processes in a single facility. These processes include traditional microfabrication processes such as photolithography and mask generation; thin film deposition; plasma etching and wet chemistry; and packaging. Electron beam lithography and nano-imprinting services offer the ability to quickly prototype nanoscale devices on different substrates. Traditional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) materials growth, including atomic layer deposition as well as non-traditional process such as soft lithography, are also available. IEN cleanroom users come from numerous different academic departments within Georgia Tech’s Colleges of Engineering and Science, as well as the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI).

The mission of the IEN is to maintain these current resources while also growing our capabilities through the acquisition of new high-tech tools; train users on safe and proper operation of the equipment; and provide the highest caliber technical expertise to enable users to achieve their desired results. These facilities, along with a skilled and experienced staff, has enabled Georgia Tech to be the hub of nanotechnology research in the southeast and competitive with the best U.S. national university facilities.

Fundamentally, having a fully controlled environment is crucial in nanotechnology research and development. Particle levels, temperature, humidity, pressure, light, ultrapure water, and process gases all play important roles in achieving the conditions needed to conduct successful research.

One of the challenges of user-centered facilities is that most new users do not have experience working in a cleanroom and lack familiarity with the unique operational conditions that come with this environment. To assist with acclimation, the IEN provides mandatory orientation programs to educate new users about cleanroom operation, safety, regulations, training, and protocols. Before being granted unsupervised access to any specific piece of equipment, users are required to attend training and pass a hands-on check-off test by facility staff. The IEN also offers seminars, workshops, forums, and staff office hours to assist users with process or engineering.

Particle contamination is the biggest concern for maintaining a controlled cleanroom environment. Cleanroom suits must be worn at all times to avoid cleanroom users’ skin and hair generating particulate contamination. Every item that users bring into the cleanroom must be cleanroom compatible (especially with regard to particle contamination) and fully decontaminated before entering to maintain the required cleanroom conditions. Non-cleanroom designed paper, notebooks, and cardboard containers are not allowed inside, and any chemical bottles, plastic boxes, or other instruments need to be wiped completely prior to taking inside the cleanroom. Before a new piece of equipment can be installed in the facility, it must be decontaminated multiple times in a dedicated cleaning area. Any particle producing process must be conducted in a well-ventilated area. The cleanroom staff checks particle levels on a regular basis to monitor any changes in airborne contamination.

In the Pettit cleanroom, process equipment is located in bays separated by chases which contain supporting items such as pumps, chilled water, gas cabinets, exhaust scrubbers, power supplies, and other support equipment. These supporting systems do not need to be in the highly controlled environment, so isolating them in the chases reduces the amount of expensive cleanroom space one has to construct. In addition, allowable particle levels are controlled separately from bay to bay. For example, the photolithography bay has a Class 10 environment while the metallization bay is Class 1,000. In contrast, the Marcus inorganic cleanroom is a flow-through, ballroom design where all equipment is located within the same 10,000 sq. ft. open area. The challenge of maintaining low particle counts throughout the facility is addressed by maintaining a higher flow rate on the clean air return to those cleanroom sections that require it. With this approach, we have been successful in keeping these low particle count sections of the cleanroom at Class 100 level.

Many of the fabrication processes are sensitive not only to particle levels, but also to other environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, and vibration. The IEN cleanroom has a network of sensors monitoring the variation in these parameters, and the data can be directly read in real time via a web interface, along with historical data covering longer periods of times to identify trends. Many of the warnings and alarms from the sensor network are sent immediately to cleanroom staff on their mobile devices so they can rapidly identify problems and fix them.

Ultimately, maintaining the appropriate controlled environment relies upon collaboration between staff and users. Users report to staff any problems or concerns about the cleanroom environment, and they also help staff to identify potential problems, warn other users of improper behavior, and do some routine housekeeping work. Everyone who uses and benefits from the cleanroom has the responsibility of keeping the facility safe.

The product of a well-controlled environment is high quality research. Supported by the IEN cleanroom, Georgia Tech faculty, students, and research staff, as well as our research affiliates from other universities and companies, have published journal articles, presented at conferences, and filed patents based on discoveries realized within the IEN facilities. In addition, this research has led to a number of successful startup companies founded by GT faculty and students.

Dr. Paul J. Joseph is Principal Research Scientist and Dr. Hang Chen is Research Scientist II at the Georgia Tech Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology. Drs. Joseph and Chen wish to thank their support team at Georgia Tech for their assistance with this article. www.ien.gatech.edu

 

Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility

The University of Chicago’s Institute for Molecular Engineering will build a major new facility for nanoscale fabrication within the William Eckhardt Research Center, supported by a $15 million gift from the Pritzker Foundation.

In recognition of the gift, the 12,000-square-foot facility in the heart of the Hyde Park campus will be named the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility.

With an advanced toolset and enough space for a wide range of projects, the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility will support work on new applications in computing, health care, communications, smart materials and more. Products could include advanced computer processors, quantum-bit processors, sensors, detectors, lasers, micromechanical systems and bionano devices.

“The Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility will put highly sophisticated tools in the hands of researchers, providing critical support to the work of faculty in our Institute for Molecular Engineering, as well as offering new opportunities for inquiry in related areas,” said President Robert J. Zimmer. “I am deeply grateful to the Pritzkers, whose generosity will benefit the Institute for Molecular Engineering and the University, and enhance Chicago as a hub for discovery and innovation.”

“We believe the new nanofabrication facility holds great promise for breakthroughs that can transform fields of study and improve human life,” said Thomas J. Pritzker, on behalf of the Pritzker Foundation. “We understand that this kind of project can’t be done piecemeal. It takes a significant investment, and we believe this facility will be an important contribution to greater Chicago’s innovation ecosystem.”

The gift brings the total Pritzker Foundation contribution in support of the Institute for Molecular Engineering to $25 million, including a 2011 gift recognized with the naming of the Institute’s directorship.

The William Eckhardt Research Center is a major new home for the physical sciences and molecular engineering located on Ellis Avenue. It houses the Institute for Molecular Engineering, along with other faculty offices and laboratories for the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics.

The building was specially engineered to account for the particular needs of a large clean room. The creation of the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility will fulfill the vision for a multidisciplinary, state-of-the-art facility that will provide distinct advantages.

“In size, in the variety of work it can support and in the technology of the toolset, the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility will be a regional and national resource the day its doors open,” said Matthew Tirrell, the Pritzker Director of the Institute for Molecular Engineering. “Having a facility like this at the center of campus makes a powerful statement about the University’s commitment to these emerging fields of discovery.”

The Institute for Molecular Engineering will manage the facility, which it also will make available to researchers across the University, as well as to external users, including other institutions and industry.

The Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility will house a suite of tools that can fabricate complex, integrated electronic, mechanical and fluidic structures. Work at the facility is expected to bridge the gap between academia and industry, leading to the creation of new nanotechnology applications. The scale of these applications can be as small as a few atoms.

One example of such an application would be a tiny, ultra-low power device that combines computation, communication and storage capabilities. To do that, scientists will go beyond conventional electronics that move charges in electrical circuits to multifunctional quantum devices that manipulate the spins of electrons.

Another potential application of nanofabrication would be a device that can detect and count virus particles in blood.

“Having a world-class nanofabrication facility on campus will dramatically enhance the capacity of the Institute for Molecular Engineering and change the dynamics of interactions with numerous departments, Argonne National Laboratory and researchers at Northwestern University, the University of Illinois and startup companies in Chicago,” said David Awschalom, the Liew Family Professor in Molecular Engineering.

“The cleanroom will serve as a common meeting ground for students in engineering, materials science, biology, physics and chemistry; they will all work in the same facility, exploiting advanced fabrication capabilities to prototype new devices and technology concepts,” Awschalom added. “Sharing tools and exchanging ideas among students and faculty within a multiuser facility will catalyze research projects, and help develop solutions to problems in their respective fields. This infrastructure will be extremely important to our experimental efforts in atomic-scale electronics, and its presence will drive new directions in quantum engineering.”

The Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility adds another key piece of infrastructure to a growing set of programs and venues that support scientists working at the intersection of basic scientific research and the innovation of new technologies.

University officials said that the new facility will complement the nanoscale research infrastructure already in place at Argonne National Laboratory. The new facility also will provide another key resource for scientists and entrepreneurs seeking to bring new discoveries to practical application through the recently opened Chicago Innovation Exchange.

The Institute for Molecular Engineering was created at the University of Chicago in 2011, in partnership with Argonne National Laboratory. The Institute is designed to explore fundamental societal challenges such as safe drinking water, cancer prevention and efficient energy storage, through advances in nanoscale manipulation and molecular design.

Since its founding, the Institute has recruited eight scientists of international stature on the way to a projected faculty of at least 24, as well as launching a PhD program and an undergraduate curriculum.

The University of Chicago’s Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility, completed in 2015, has an ISO Class 5 cleanroom which specializes in advanced lithographic processing of hard and soft materials. Its cleanroom components are part of the nearly unlimited range of scale and focus in research space found within the University of Chicago’s Eckhardt Research Center (ERC). The Pritzker facility hosts a 13,000 sq. ft., Class 100 cleanroom. It was envisioned to serve as a core facility with highly specialized tools to enable chemists, engineers, and physical scientists to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges at the molecular level.

The cleanroom was originally designed for a generic “straw man” program by Abbie Gregg Inc., which worked with HOK to obtain approvals for the facility. Jacobs Engineering was selected as the final designer of the cleanroom build-out.

The designers sought to create a high-performance, vibration-free space for the cleanroom, imaging area, and other high performance laboratories on a tight urban site next to high-traffic streets. Working with Colin Gordon and Abbie Gregg Inc., HOK determined that these spaces must be located well away from the street traffic. This resulted in the creation of two deep basement levels that extend beyond the building to the west under the landscaped quadrangle to achieve the area requirements. The cleanroom and imaging areas are in the area on each basement level that is furthest from the street.

Electromagnetic interference was also mitigated using epoxy-coated reinforcing bars, tested and used for their ability to conduct electric current, in foundations. In addition, moving metal elements such as steel doors were eliminated.

The cleanroom offers a unique view corridor, with large expanses of glass, which enables visitors to easily observe the cleanroom scientists in action while also visually connecting the cleanroom users to building activity.

The Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility has partnered with Northwestern University in the NSF-supported Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) resource. It is open to all properly trained users through a fee for use structure.

Equipment includes advanced electron beam lithography systems; I-line optical stepper; direct write lithography capable of handling piece parts to 150 mm wafers; physical vapor deposition tools including sputtering systems, electron beam evaporators, and a thermal evaporator; plasma etching systems configured for both chlorine- and fluorine-based etching; inspection tools including scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and high performance optical microscope; profilometry, ellipsometry, thin film interferometry, and stress; a probe station; and a 150 mm capable dicing saw.

The University of Chicago’s William Eckhardt Research Center provides a link to transformative, interdisciplinary discovery. The facility’s laboratories, collaborative spaces, and precision instrumentation support the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, the new Institute for Molecular Engineering (IME), the Dean’s Office of Physical Sciences, and their partners in their collective work toward scientific discovery.

Finite Element Analysis of LL1: Colin Gordon Associates provided finite element analysis to predict the vibration characteristics of the ERC lower levels in design. Highest performance zones are revealed in the blue areas.

The facility provides a home for the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility cleanroom’s work at the molecular level, as well as flexible physics laboratories where the origins of the universe are studied and Chem-Bio laboratories where researchers explore the efficacy of new molecules in curing disease.

  

Grand Opening of UC Irvine Materials Research Institute (IMRI)

The JEOL Center for Nanoscale Solutions at IRMI is poised to become one of the world’s preeminent centers of excellence for interdisciplinary research, discovery and development of engineered and natural materials, systems and devices. IMRI is home to several of the highest performance TEMs available in the world today. It is also the first US installation of the JEOL GRAND ARM Transmission Electron Microscope developed for advanced atomic resolution characterization, In addition, the facility also houses the JEM-2800 high throughput, nano-analysis TEM/STEM, and the JEM-2100F cryogenic and atomic level structural analysis TEM.

The Grand Opening will showcase the accomplishments to date at this premier Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) facility, now open to serve all university, industry and nonprofit researchers. Invited speakers will include leading edge researchers in electron microscopy who are known worldwide for their achievements in materials and biological sciences.

The interdisciplinary nexus for the study and development of new materials, IMRI operates a wide range of state-of-the-art, open-access user facilities for the characterization of materials, biological samples and devices from sub-Å to macroscopic length scales - available to all university, industry and non-profit researchers. It offers advanced techniques and services with professional staff support.

Dr. Pan, an internationally-recognized researcher in the physics of materials, joined the UC Irvine faculty in 2015 to lead the $20 million initiative. According to Dr. Pan, “The three-day symposium will bring together the scientific community working on various aspects of research and development in TEM to encourage the exchange of ideas for the advancement and challenges in atomic scale imaging and spectroscopy. There will be over 50 internationally renowned TEM experts and scientists participating in this event.”

In his work Pan has pioneered the development and applications of advanced TEM techniques and the discovery of novel phenomena and properties of engineered materials, which range from ferroelectrics and multiferroics to nanocatalysts and energy materials.

“The JEOL Center for Nanoscale Solutions will be the most advanced electron microscopy cluster available for probing the atomic structure and properties of materials," says JEOL USA President Peter Genovese.

 

Tempo to Build New Factory for Electronics Manufacturing

Tempo, the world's fastest low-volume electronics manufacturer, announced that it has closed a $20 million Series B round to increase its manufacturing capacity and double its team in key roles in software engineering, sales, and manufacturing. Driven by high demand, Tempo plans to increase manufacturing capacity with a new connected factory and company headquarters in the heart of San Francisco. Paired with its factory software, this increases its overall capacity by 10X over the next couple years.  The round was led by P72 Ventures with participation from existing investors Lux Capital, Uncork Capital and AME, and new investors Industry Ventures, Dolby Ventures, and Cendana.  Sri Chandrasekar of P72 Ventures joins Tempo's board of directors.

Hardware companies use Tempo's service to rapidly prototype printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) designs and to get to market faster. Tempo's strength is in 'connected manufacturing,' so design data from the customer uploads directly interface with the robots on the floor. This eliminates manual setup and drastically speeds up the manufacturing process. For engineers, this also means they focus on engineering, and less project management. Engineers simply upload a CAD design, get a real-time quote and Design for Manufacturing (DFM) feedback, track the order through each process, and get fully assembled boards straight to their desk. Tempo's connected factory creates an unbroken digital thread so every step of the process - from design data to machines to material vendors and to technicians - is interconnected, which results in customers being able to iterate up to 5 times faster.

"Whether they're building products from rockets to medical devices to autonomous cars, today's leading companies are racing to get their ideas and concepts to market faster.  Yet, the tools to design and manufacture hardware have not improved in decades. When developing new software, it would be unimaginable to have to wait weeks and trade tens of phone calls and emails just to see if your code works or not.  Yet, that's the daily experience of electrical engineers today," said Jeff McAlvay, CEO of Tempo Automation. "We are excited to have Sri from P72 join our board.  Having experienced the frustrations of electronics development firsthand, he shares our mission to create a new electronics manufacturing paradigm by building an unbroken digital thread from design to delivery."

This funding underscores the momentum Tempo has recently achieved, including:

Growth in revenue of over 500%, in 2017 alone

Plans to nearly double staff from 60 to over 100, specifically in key roles across engineering, sales and manufacturing by the end of 2018

Accelerating enterprise traction, counting nearly 200 paying customers from the world's leading technology enterprises

A significant increase in customers from key verticals across aerospace, automotive, commercial hardware, consumer electronics, internet of things (IoT) and medical devices

"People take for granted that engineers can rapidly iterate designs, but that's never been the case in electronics design.  By reducing prototyping time from weeks to days, Tempo empowers engineers to experiment and companies to completely rethink their design timelines and processes.  Tempo is transforming the electronics industry and their new factory will finally keep up with the demand and enthusiasm from engineers across industry," said Sri Chandrasekar, Partner at P72 Ventures.

For more information, please visit: http://www.tempoautomation.com. To search careers at Tempo, please visit: https://www.tempoautomation.com/careers.

About Tempo Automation:

Tempo is the world's fastest low-volume electronics manufacturer.  Its connected factory is powered by proprietary automation software, creating an unbroken digital thread from design to delivery. This makes it possible for engineers to explore & realize ideas faster and better than ever. Tempo's investors include P72 Ventures (Series B Lead), Lux Capital (Series A Lead), AME, Bolt, Cendana, Dolby Ventures, Draper Associates, Golden Seeds, Incite Ventures, Industry Ventures, OS Fund, and Uncork Capital. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in San Francisco.

 

Versum Materials' New Technology Center

The smartphone, laptop and other electronic devices you own would not exist without the major technological improvements to the integrated circuit, or microchip, over recent decades.

And the semiconductor industry that makes those modern microchips relies on special materials and chemical processes developed by companies like Versum Materials.

The next level of electronic speed and performance will rely on the work done at Versum’s new research and development facility in Rush Township, Schuylkill County.

Versum, an electronic materials company spun off from Trexlertown’s Air Products in October 2016 and based in Tempe, Ariz., held a grand opening for the $20 million Tamaqua-area facility. It’s part of a $60 million investment in the larger campus, home to more Versum employees (nearly 250) than any of its other manufacturing facilities around the world.

The new R&D center created about 30 new jobs, and many of these workers hold advanced degrees in chemistry or chemical engineering.

The campus produces a variety of specialty gases and chemicals for semiconductor manufacturers around the world. Two of the main ones are nitrogen trifluoride, used to create clean plasma etching of silicon wafers, and tungsten hexafluoride, which the semiconductor industry uses to make thin films.

“The gases and chemicals that we invent, manufacture and supply here are used to make the most advanced computer chips in the world,” said John Langan, senior vice president and chief technology officer. “Our customers produce devices that are powering the digital era by processing and storing information on scales that were just unimaginable a few generations ago.

To continue improving and shrinking microchips, Langan said, semiconductor companies are turning to 3D technology that relies on stacking silicon wafers.

“These complicated designs require new enabling materials and processes to make them possible,” Langan said. “That’s both the challenge and opportunity for Versum.”

Jim Hart, a chemical engineering technology manager, said Versum was able to make the investment in the technology center in part because it no longer has to compete for major project funding. When Versum was a division of Air Products, it vied with the core industrial gases division for capital.

CEO Guillermo Novo has made a point of encouraging innovation, Hart said.

Versum’s “Process Materials” team will use the facility to focus on specialty materials manufacturing improvements and the identification of new etching and cleaning gases.

Versum’s Organometallic team will use it to more quickly synthesize, test and deliver new organometallic precursors. This will enable faster and more comprehensive collaborations with its global semiconductor customers and partners.

Ed Shober, senior vice president of materials and a graduate of nearby Marian Catholic High School, said all of Versum’s customers have one thing in common: They’re working on “the next big thing.”

“The next big product, the next technology, the next breakthrough that boosts efficiency, power and performance,” he said. “We remain fully committed to always be looking around the corner … this investment is further validation of our commitment to invest for the future.”

Versum employs about 2,200 people worldwide. It had revenues of $1.1 billion in 2017.

Company Details: Versum Materials

Electronic materials company spun off from Air Products in 2016

Headquarters: Tempe, Ariz.

Employees: 2,200 globally; 550 in the Lehigh Valley and Rush Township, Schuylkill County

Revenue: $1.1 billion in 2017

Makes: Specialty chemicals and gases for electronics manufacturing.

McIlvaine Company

Northfield, IL 60093-2743

Tel:  847-784-0012; Fax:  847-784-0061

E-mail:  editor@mcilvainecompany.com

Web site:  www.mcilvainecompany.com