Emerging Technologies to Provide
Huge Markets for Gases
PAUL NESDORE, PUBLISHER/EDITOR
A market research statistic
several years ago reported
that over 50% of the GDP is
comprised of products that
need gases somewhere in
their manufacturing process.
This meant direct gas input
to the process. What immediately comes to mind are
industries such as semiconductors, steel, glass, chemicals, or cement manufacturing. Indirectly, it is much
higher. For although a product may not require a direct
input of a gas, the product
may contain, for example, a
microchip that was produced
in a fab somewhere in the
world that required over 200
gases as part of the process.
There is another less straightforward way gases creep
into the manufacturing process. The product itself may
require no gas, but a gas(es)
may be a by-product of the
manufacturing, and that gas
has to be monitored and/or
abated, because it is either
toxic or contributes to global
warming or both.
Let’s look, however, at the
more direct need for gas in
two of the emerging technologies—LEDs and solar cells
(photovoltaic). Large volumes of ammonia (NH3) gas
are needed for LED manufacturing to provide the nitrogen source for depositing
gallium nitride layers in the
manufacturing process. (See
our Q&A [page 8] with Bob
Ford, regarding thebuilding
of an on-site NH3 ammonia
generating plant in China.)
Also, other gases are needed
like dopant gases ZnO, B2H6,
and PH3.
Although introduced as
early as 1997, the replace-
ment of conventional light-
ing sources with LEDs is
just gaining speed. GTM
Research ( www.gtmresearch.
com) forecasts a 30% annual
growth rate, exceeding one
billion in revenues in 2014
for commercial and industrial
lighting. There are so many
advantages of LED lighting,
that to argue against this
technology becoming among
the largest new technologi-
cal developments is foolish
(unless you are selling the
tungsten for the filaments of
incandescent bulbs).
A recent Department of
Energy report1 reveals some
significant statistics about
the beneficent properties of
LEDs. The report breaks applications down into three major
categories: illumination,
outdoor lighting, and consumer electronics displays.
Editorial Advisory Board
4
John Baxter
Manager, Product & Technology
Swagelok Semiconductor Services Company
Lloyd Brown, Ph. D.
Semiconductor Process Gases R&D Manager
Praxair
Robert Ford
Bulk Specialty Gas Manager
Air Products
Ralph Cohen
President
Ralph M. Cohen Consultancy
Dr. Michael P. Fuller
Director of Marketing
AMETEK
Richard Green
Manager of Business Development
CONCOA
Carter Hall
VP / GM
Capitol Area Business Solutions
J. V. Martinez De Pinillos, Ph. D.
Director, Office of Microelectronics Programs National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Kavita Murthi
Sub-Atmospheric Gas Products Marketing Manager
Matheson Tri-Gas
Dr. Edward Naranjo
Product Manager
General Monitors
Bruce Nasser
Analytical Chemist/Industrial Scientist
Oxygen Service Company
Kimberly J. Reynolds
Product Manager, Gases & Chemicals Division
Tiger Optics, LLC
Patrick G. Smith
Vice President and Director of R&D
Sensor Electronics
Andre w Tipler
Senior Staff Scientist, Chromatography
PerkinElmer
Stephen Vaughan
President
Custom Gas Solutions
