Expansion Of Copper And Tin Refining Capacity For The Semiconductor Industry

Demand for the copper material has been steadily growing as new advanced chip designs continue to require high-purity copper. Additional industry growth has come as memory manufacturers transition from aluminum to copper. The use of copper and tin for advanced chip packaging applications is similarly on the rise.
"We are committed to meeting the growing needs of the industry for advanced, high-purity metals,” said Mike Norton, product line director for Honeywell Electronic Materials’ Advanced Metals business. “We are doing that by making the supply chain and technology investments necessary to meet industry requirements and support our customers, whether they are working on leading-edge technology nodes or within the more mature spaces within the semiconductor industry.”
The first phase of the capacity expansion will be complete in the first quarter of next year, while the second phase is expected to be completed by the middle of next year.
One of the most significant benefits of using copper in integrated circuits is its ability to provide a lower resistivity than aluminum, which has been widely used for interconnects in the industry. Lower resistivity translates to faster chip speeds, which in turn delivers increased device performance. Copper has also been embraced for chip packaging applications due to the rapidly increasing costs associated with gold, which is the current industry standard.
Tin has been used increasingly as an alternative to lead for advanced chip packaging applications, providing an option for customers who must comply with regulations against lead-based materials.
Honeywell is a leading supplier of metals to the semiconductor industry, manufacturing high-purity physical vapor deposition (PVD)/sputtering targets and advanced packaging materials for electrical interconnect. The company supplies targets for a range of metals, including copper, cobalt, aluminum, titanium and tungsten. These metals are primarily used to form the wiring that conducts the electrical current through the circuits within semiconductors. Honeywell’s advanced packaging materials include copper and tin and are used to electrically connect the chip to the end use device.
To ensure a high-quality, consistent and secure supply of metal feedstock, Honeywell is vertically integrated in the production of source materials, with a supply of metals designed specifically for use in the semiconductor industry. The resulting supply chain offers customers better quality control and delivery assurance during times of source material shortages and/or industry ramps.
In addition to producing high-purity metals, sputtering targets and advanced packaging, Honeywell supplies a range of materials to the semiconductor industry, including electronic polymers, precision thermocouples and electronic chemicals.