Dec 20 2010
Semiconductor CMP pad technology company NexPlanar will open a new manufacturing facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, by the end of the year for increased production of their technology.
The company is moving into an 18,000 square foot facility from a smaller location in the same town. NexPlanar also manufactures pads in Minneapolis, MN.
Approximately ten new jobs will initially be added to the NexPlanar staff as the new facility ramps up. The company did not consider moving from the Portland region. "We originally selected the Hillsboro area because of its proximity to our customer base and the tremendous talent pool of qualified personnel in high technology manufacturing," commented Jim LaCasse, NexPlanar CEO.
"Because of the unique design of our product," continued LaCasse, "customers in the US and Asia have been qualifying NexPlanar's pads and it became necessary to increase capacity. We also wanted to have the ability to incrementally increase capacity in the future. This new Hillsboro site provides for a significant capacity increase and the flexibility needed for the future."
CMP Pad Technology
Via NexPlanar's "void engineering" concept, the CMP pads (which planarize a semiconductor wafer) have a "designed-in" porosity and surface roughness distinct from other products offered today. While maintaining desirable removal rates, these features provide dramatic improvement for pattern density insensitivity and lower defects. NexPlanar's soft pads technology and the new line of Element™ semi-hard and hard pads offer distinct advantages related to uniformity and defect reduction.
Source: http://www.nexplanar.com./