Dow Corning Moves to Become Leading Global Supplier

Dow Corning, a global leader in silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation, announced today that it has significantly ramped up production capacity for hexachlorodisilane (HCDS), and is working with global and local distributors to ensure its safe and efficient supply to current and future customers worldwide. HCDS is a high-purity precursor that is critical for a multitude of advanced, thin-film deposition processes for memory and logic semiconductor chip fabrication. In addition to establishing Dow Corning as a leading supplier of this crucial precursor for global semiconductor production, the expanded capability now offers the industry a very reliable and proven source for high-quality HCDS.

“For decades, Dow Corning, and its majority owned Hemlock Semiconductor, have been the secure choice as supplier of high-quality specialty gas precursor materials, such as chlorosilanes, methylsilanes and most recently monosilane for the global semiconductor industry,” said Ken Seibert, market development leader, Semiconductor Materials at Dow Corning. “Today we are applying that same tradition of know-how, expertise and experience in producing and handling hazardous materials, to ensure a reliable, high-purity supply of HCDS will meet the current and future needs of our customers around the world.”

With this new high-volume capacity, Dow Corning can now meet or exceed the entire industry’s HCDS demand. In addition, the company’s established record and strong commitment to safe manufacturing processes helps to ensure reliability of its supply.

“Building on our proven track record for the safe handling of monosilanes, Dow Corning has scrutinized the safety procedures and resources for its industry-leading HCDS product to minimize the risk to our employees, communities and customers, and to ensure we can deliver a consistently reliable supply worldwide,” said Michael Telgenhoff, process engineering leader, Semiconductor Materials at Dow Corning.

A stable, moisture sensitive liquid with low volatility, HCDS enables a low-temperature alternative to using silane or dichlorosilane to deposit high-quality silicon oxide and silicon nitride thin films.