News

22 June 2010

 

Dow Electronic Materials to expand TMG capacity to serve LED market

To meet surging global demand, Dow Electronic Materials of Philadelphia, PA, USA, a business unit of Dow Advanced Materials, has announced a multi-phase plan to expand production capacity of its high-purity, electronic-grade trimethyl gallium (TMG) metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) precursor materials by 60 metric tons per year.

This includes adding significant capacity at existing facilities in the USA to address short-term demand as quickly as possible, while also building a new manufacturing plant in Korea (starting operation in early 2011) to create capacity for long-term demand.

“We are committed to delivering a reliable supply of high-quality materials to our customers and providing them with the service and technical expertise that they expect,” says Joe Reiser, global business director, Metalorganic Technologies. “We will continue to work closely with our customers to meet both near- and long-term needs,” he adds.

“Demand for TMG today is being driven by explosive growth in LED backlighting of LCD TVs with the potential of future growth of LEDs in the general lighting market,” says Dr James Fahey, global general manager, Growth Technologies. “The LED market is growing rapidly, particularly in Korea, Taiwan and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region where there is a large display manufacturing base and semiconductor manufacturers are building and converting capacity to manufacture LEDs,” he adds.

The new plant in Korea will be located in Cheonan, about 85km south of Seoul. Dow Electronic Materials expects to expand the site in the future to manufacture other metalorganic materials in addition to TMG. The firm currently manufactures TMG and other metalorganic precursors in North Andover, MA, while packaging is performed in both North Andover and Taoyuan, Taiwan.

See related items:

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SAFC Hitech expanding TMG capacity in UK plant

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