3 November 2011

Sales of Johnson Matthey PureGuard V-Purge Systems up in US and Europe

Johnson Matthey’s Gas Purification Technology (GPT) group of West Chester, PA, USA says that 2011 sales of its PureGuard V-Purge System to compound semiconductor manufacturers are up in the USA and Europe.

Johnson Matthey, which designs, manufactures and distributes point-of-use gas purification equipment to the global electronics industry, has shipped its PureGuard V-Purge Systems, hydrogen purifiers and other products to new and expanding fabs for semiconductor and analytical applications including compound semiconductor, crystal growth and photovoltaic (PV) deposition processes.

“While China and Taiwan are still the largest markets for our products, V-Purge System sales are strong in the US and Europe,” says GPT group business manager Jeff Lucht. “These systems are designed to meet the needs of today’s largest MOCVD [metal-organic chemical vapour deposition] production platforms, particularly for manufacturing high-brightness (HB) and other types of LEDs,” he adds.

Lucht says that he expects GPT PureGuard V-Purge System sales to be strong in 2012 “based on the fact that long-term LED market opportunities remain very positive”.

The V-Purge System enhances the performance of Johnson Matthey and other hydrogen purifiers for higher flow rates typical in production fabs. The patented system, which employs palladium membrane technology, offers flow rates of 1-200slpm and removes water, oxygen, carbon monoxide, methane, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and THC (total hydrocarbon) to produce the purest possible hydrogen.

The system provides heat management capable of handling any flow change, what is claimed to be superior protection from power failure and pressure surges, and can switch from full nitrogen to full hydrogen immediately. When the automated purge is activated, it takes the V-Purge System minutes to remove all hydrogen.

Earlier this year Johnson Matthey’s GPT group reported that 2010 Asia sales had increased dramatically for its bulk and point-of-use PureGuard PSH Series hydrogen purifiers, due largely to the continuing rapid growth of LED production using MOCVD tools.

Tags: Johnson Matthey Nitrogen purifiers MOCVD LEDs

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