With an investment exceeding 400 million yuan, Suzhou Yvette plans to build a semiconductor gas project.

On July 28, the official website of the Suzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone published the first public notice for the environmental impact assessment of the second-phase expansion project of Suzhou Yivite New Materials Co., Ltd., which focuses on the R&D and domestic production of semiconductor gases and materials. According to available information, the project plans to build new purification and filling facilities for hexafluoroethane and octafluorocyclobutane at the company’s former site on Jin’an Road in the Suzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone, with a designed capacity of 500 tons per year for each; a mixed-gas production facility with a capacity of 45,000 m³ per year; an electronic-grade nitrous oxide production facility with a capacity of 6,000 tons per year; as well as facilities for handling flammable and corrosive gases at a rate of 620 tons per year and flammable gases and bulk gases at a rate of 85,750 cubic meters per year. The total investment for the project amounts to 405.9014 million yuan. Suzhou Yivite New Materials Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zhejiang Taote Container Technology Co., Ltd., established on June 12, 2017, with a registered capital of 120 million yuan.

Hexafluoroethane, owing to its non-toxicity, odorlessness, and high stability, is widely used in semiconductor manufacturing processes as an etchant (dry etch) and for cleaning reaction chambers following chemical vapor deposition. Currently, when used as an etchant or CVD chamber cleaner, hexafluoroethane must have a purity of at least 99.995%. Hexafluoroethane has an ODP value (ozone depletion potential) of zero and a GWP value (global warming potential) of 9,200. It can be employed as a cryogenic refrigerant and is also used in limited applications in medical surgery and other newly developed fields. Octafluorocyclobutane, also known as perfluorocyclobutane, is chemically stable, non-toxic, does not affect the ozone layer, and has a low global warming potential. It is a green, environmentally friendly specialty gas primarily used in high-voltage insulation, as an etchant for ultra-large-scale integrated circuits, as a replacement for chlorofluorocarbons in mixed refrigerants, in aerosols, as a cleaning agent (for the electronics industry), in sprays, and as a working fluid for heat pumps. With the implementation of the Montreal Protocol and the rapid growth of the electronics industry, the role of octafluorocyclobutane has become increasingly important, and its usage continues to rise year by year, making it an essential specialty fluorinated gas.

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