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- Altech Chemicals (ASX:ATC) plans on creating a high purity alumina (HPA) product for epoxy moulding compounds
- HPA will be used as a filler to improve overheating in semi-conductors
- The market size is expected to be 700-900 tonnes per annum and is worth approximately $147 per kilogram
- Altech is up 4.55 per cent on the market today and is trading at 12¢ apiece
Altech Chemicals has updated the market regarding the use of high purity alumina (HPA) in the manufacturing of epoxy moulding compounds (EMC).
As the world of electronics is getting smaller and more compact, overheating is becoming a problem. The material that has been used for semi-conductors, is starting to fail and can’t keep up with the fast changes in technology.
EMC’s are used in the semiconductor industry to improve heat dissipation. Heat dissipation is a type of heat transfer.
Altech recently started an investigation of EMCs for the semi-conductor market, with the purpose of targeting some of its future HPA product into this market segment.
Altech plans on creating a HPA product to be used as a filler in EMC’s for semi-conductors. It says HPA improves semi-conductor heat dissipation.
Typically, industrial-strength epoxy compounds are used for the package assembly of semi-conductors, as it provides the required physical protection and mechanical strength.
Epoxy compounds also have the required performance properties such as heat and moisture, which both can destroy a semi-conductor, warp an electronic device (that the semi-conductor is used in), or even cause a device to catch on fire.
Electronic devices continue to become more compact with Altech stating thermal or heat dissipation is a real and fast spreading problem.
“It is suggested that heat could represent the ultimate barrier to the ever smaller and more powerful semi-conductors that end-users have become accustomed to,” the company said.
The epoxy resins that have been used for semi-conductors are starting to fail in heat dissipation. However, adding thermal conductive materials into the resins has shown to improve heat dissipation, meaning it has improved semi-conducts having heat failures.
“The thermally conductive fillers that are being used include HPA, crystalline silica, and magnesium oxide,” Altech told the market.
“HPA is a preferred filer, due to its heat conductivity (7 times higher than silica) and a much lower thermal expansion coefficient (50 per cent lower),” the company added.
Altech’s initial investigation into the demand for high quality HPA from the EMC semi-conductor market has a global market size of 700-900 tonnes per annum. The price per kilogram is approximately $147 (US$100).
The company says that year-on-year growth in the market is typically in line with growth experienced in the semi-conductor business.
“Altech believes that its low sodium HPA, and the morphology of its HPA, may be ideal for the EMC semi-conductor application, and the company intends to commence the development of a product specification that may suit this market sector’s requirements,” the company concluded.
Altech is up 4.55 per cent on the market today and is trading at 12¢ apiece at 1:24 pm AEDT.
