Air Products has successfully closed the purchase of DuPont's stake in DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials, a 50-50 joint venture between the two companies. Terms of the deal were not revealed.
DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials produces chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) slurries for use in the wafer polishing and semiconductor industries. The company has a proven portfolio of products for shallow trench isolation CMP, tungsten CMP, copper CMP, and wafer polishing applications. Its headquarters is located in Tempe, Arizona and its regional headquarters is situated in Hsinchu County, Taiwan.
The current value of the market for wafer polishing and CMP slurries is over $1 billion and the growth rate of the market is two times higher than that of the semiconductor MSI index that calculates silicon shipments in terms of square inches. The acquisition of DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials is in line with Air Products' other novel materials used for sophisticated technology nodes. Besides the inclusion of wafer polishing and CMP slurries, Air Products provides a portfolio of post-CMP cleaning solutions.
Air Products’ Vice President and General Manager for Electronics, Wayne Mitchell stated that through this purchase, the company expands its strategy of providing a portfolio of different products to customers in the semiconductor industry. The Advanced Integration Materials business’ Director, Ed Shober stated that this unique integration of advanced delivery systems and materials will help Air Products to deliver novel technical solutions to its customers.
In 2011, Air Products bought Poly-Flow Engineering, an Albuquerque, New Mexico-based company manufacturing CMP blending and delivery equipment for use in the semiconductor industry.