Air Products Expands N2O Capacity in Taiwan

Air Products, (NYSE: APD) through its subsidiary of Air Products
San Fu, has recently expanded nitrous oxide (N2O) capacity at
its Nanke plant in Taiwan province to support the fast growing
semiconductor and thin film transistor-liquid crystal display
(TFT-LCD) markets in Asia. The new capacity, which has been
on-stream since the beginning of 2007, doubles the N2O capacity
and produces high purity N2O products to meet existing and
potential customers' requirements.
   The expanded capacity will continue to use the exact
technology as the existing production capabilities. There will
be no change in raw material supply for production, and Air
Products will continue to maintain its strict online monitoring
of the operational process and the thorough analysis of the
finished goods produced at Nanke.
   Nitrous oxide is used with silane for chemical vapor
deposition of silicon nitride layers, which are typically used
as a passivation, masking, or insulating layers. Another of its
main applications is in the plasma deposition of Fluorinated
Silica Glass (FSG) as a low-k dielectric insulating film between
adjacent metal lines.