Daido Air Products Electronics (DAP) headquartered in Sakai-shi, Osaka, (President: Isamu Handa) will develop a leasing business based on a transfilling system of metalorganic gases. The company aims to popularize the use of "EpiFill" among MOCVD (Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition) facilities in Japan. "EpiFill" is an automatic gas supply system developed by Epichem, a British company that produces metalorganics. Although today only about six EpiFill units are operating worldwide, potential demand for the system is substantial in Japan. Thus, DAP plans to recommend that users adopt the system, capitalizing on the full-scale operations of a transfill, analytical and customer support center that DAP recently completed in Tsukuba.
DAP started in 1997 exclusively distributing specialty gases for electronics applications, and has been rapidly expanding its business backed by the recovery of the semiconductor industry. The company started constructing the transfill, analytical and customer support center for metalorganics in Tsukuba at the end of last year. The building was completed in March of 2000 and shipments of samples started in the summer following test runs of the facilities.
Production of compound semiconductors (gallium arsenic, gallium phosphorous, indium phosphate, etc.) is expanding at a very rapid rate. Meanwhile, plants for liquid/gas-phase epitaxy frequently use specialty gases such as metalorganic gases to produce compound semiconductors. These plants are usually designated as "small-lot hazardous substance storage" but they may be required to install hazardous substance storage depending on the amount of such substances they handle.
Installed in these storage areas or in CVD bases, EpiFill can automatically transfill gas in a distribution cylinder into customer cylinders (up to four cylinders at a time), thereby simplifying plant operations. Epifill also controls gas usage and reduces the frequency of connection and disconnection of cylinders, both of which lead to savings in materials. DAP anticipates strong potential demand for EpiFill because there is no such system in Japan. In parallel with this transfill system leasing business, the company plans to promote sales of its gas-related products of proven performance. For example, DAP has been a significant supplier of TMG (trimethyl gallium) for several years and additional metalorganic gases are now also beginning to grow in sales volume. |  |
CONTACTS
Daido Air Products Electronics, Inc.
Masaaki Kameda
General Manager, Compound Semiconductor Materials Division
TEL : 81-3-3432-7032
E-mail : kameda-masaaki@dap.co.jp
Yoshiaki Yoshiura
Manager
Quality Assurance Department
TEL : 81-298-66-2220 FAX : 81-298-66-2208
E-mai : yoshiura-yoshiaki@dap.co.jp |
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