BOC Edwards and Micell Integrated Systems to Jointly Commercialize Supercritical CO2 Systems and Process Technology.Business Editors WILMINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 3, 2003 BOC (Bell Operating Company) One of 22 companies that was formerly part of AT&T and later organized into seven regional companies. See RBOC. Edwards, a leading supplier of equipment, materials and services to the microelectronics microelectronics, branch of electronic technology devoted to the design and development of extremely small electronic devices that consume very little electric power. industry, today announced their alliance with Micell Integrated Systems (MIS) to further develop and commercialize technology for dense and supercritical Adj. 1. supercritical - (especially of fissionable material) able to sustain a chain reaction in such a manner that the rate of reaction increases critical - at or of a point at which a property or phenomenon suffers an abrupt change especially having enough mass CO2 semiconductor wafer (1) A small, thin continuous-loop magnetic tape cartridge that has been used from time to time for data storage and specialized applications. (2) The base unit of chip making. It is a slice taken from a salami-like silicon crystal ingot up to 12" (300mm) in diameter. processing. MIS develops processes and chemical formulations that enable CO2-based process solutions for the semiconductor industry. "BOC Edwards and MIS are jointly developing technology that will allow BOC Edwards to supply high-purity CO2 and chemistry, along with equipment subsystems to support the delivery of these materials to wafer processing tools," said Chris Case, BOC Edwards chief technical officer. "We are pleased to have Micell on our development team, as they have been a great asset and complement to BOC Edwards' development of supercritical systems." BOC Edwards is a leading industry supplier of high-purity CO2. The joint development agreement focuses on the delivery systems of semiconductor grade CO2 at supercritical pressures and sub-fab systems for chemical blending, pressure and temperature control of CO2 before delivery to the process tools. Additional systems for CO2 recycling recycling, the process of recovering and reusing waste products—from household use, manufacturing, agriculture, and business—and thereby reducing their burden on the environment. and waste recovery are an integral part of the delivery technology. BOC Edwards has full commercial responsibility for the technology. "The semiconductor industry is evaluating and rapidly adopting new wafer cleaning technology using supercritical CO2," said Jim McClain, President of MIS. "The alliance with BOC Edwards is extremely powerful and has enabled us to go to market with the only integrated solution for CO2-based processes." The initial applications for supercritical CO2 include wafer drying, cleaning and photoresist A film used in photolithography that temporarily holds the pattern of a circuit path or microscopic element of a chip. When exposed to light, it hardens and is resistant to the acid bath that washes away the unexposed areas. Not to be confused with photoresistor. stripping processes. Because of supercritical CO2's unique physical and chemical properties, the fluid can penetrate the fine features of sub-90nm structures, perform the required cleaning or drying function, and vacate To annul, set aside, or render void; to surrender possession or occupancy. The term vacate has two common usages in the law. With respect to real property, to vacate the premises means to give up possession of the property and leave the area totally devoid of contents. the features in preparation for the next process step. To perform these processes the industry needs high purity CO2 at pressures ranging from 40 to 200 bar and integrated chemical formulations designed to provide the CO2 with the required process functionality. Since there are few uses for CO2 in the fab today, to install these new processes, wafer fabs are now building infrastructure to support the CO2 based processes of the future. MIS has extensive intellectual property, know-how, and experience in using CO2 for industrial processes. BOC Edwards has the exclusive rights to products derived from Micell's intellectual property (IP) and jointly developed IP in wafer cleaning, stripping and drying for the microelectronics markets. Editor Background BOC Edwards, part of The BOC Group plc, is a leading supplier of integrated solutions for the manufacture of microelectronics devices, including silicon semiconductors, compound semiconductors and flat panel displays A thin display screen for computer and TV usage. The first flat panels appeared on laptop computers in the mid-1980s, and the LCD technology became the standard. Stand-alone LCD screens became available for desktop computers in the mid-1990s and exceeded sales of CRTs for the first time . Partnering with fabs, foundries and process tool manufacturers, BOC Edwards provides process-enabling subsystems that are supported by best-in-class operations and maintenance services for its global customer base. Serving two million customers in more than 50 countries, The BOC Group is one of the largest and most global of the world's leading gases companies. It employs over 46,000 people and had annual sales of just over GBP GBP In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the British Pound. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 4 billion (US$6.3 billion) in 2002. For more than a century BOC's gases and expertise have contributed to advances in many industries and aspects of everyday life, including steel-making, refining refining, any of various processes for separating impurities from crude or semifinished materials. It includes the finer processes of metallurgy, the fractional distillation of petroleum into its commercial products, and the purifying of cane, beet, and maple sugar , chemical processing, environmental protection, wastewater treatment, welding welding, process for joining separate pieces of metal in a continuous metallic bond. Cold-pressure welding is accomplished by the application of high pressure at room temperature; forge welding (forging) is done by means of hammering, with the addition of heat. and cutting, food processing Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food for consumption by humans or animals. The food processing industry utilises these processes. and distribution, glass production, electronics and health care. Information on the BOC Group can be accessed by visiting the Group web site, www.boc.com. Specific information on BOC Edwards can be accessed directly on www.bocedwards.com. Micell Integrated Systems, Inc. (http://www.micellintegratedsystems.com/) was established as a subsidiary of Micell Technologies (http://www.micell.com/) in January 2001. The Micell group combines powerfully innovative and creative capabilities in developing CO2-based process solutions with a proven track record in providing commercially viable integrated CO2-based systems. MIS leverages ideas, inventions and a robust patent portfolio with unique know-how and talent to create enabling CO2-based wafer processes for the microelectronics industry. |
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