Facility Information
Location: 9 Crosby Drive, Bedford, MA
Size: 80,000 square feet
Approximate number of employees: 100
Overview
Entegris’ i2M Center for Advanced Materials Science (i2M Center) is one of the world’s most advanced centers for the research, development and manufacturing of filtration media technologies and proprietary, innovative low-temperature coating technologies. These products are core components for filtration and electrostatic clamp (E-Chucks) solutions used in semiconductor and other demanding manufacturing environments.
Located in Bedford, MA, the 80,000 square foot i2M Center includes approximately 6,000 square feet of rated cleanroom space. Entegris has invested more than $55 million in building infrastructure upgrades and equipment to create the i2M Center.
“i2M” stands for “ideas to market” and represents the focus of the new facility on innovation in the area of materials science. The i2M Center is home to approximately 100 employees, many of whom hold advanced engineering degrees in chemical engineering and related sciences.
i2M Center for Advanced Materials Science Grand Opening Video
Industry Need
As smart phones, tablets and other electronics become smaller, more powerful and consume less energy, the technologies that are being employed to manufacture those devices are pushing the boundaries of physics. Entegris is enabling those technologies by solving the most difficult purification, process control and material protection challenges in advanced semiconductor and electronics manufacturing.
Currently, semiconductor devices are manufactured using the most advanced processes and materials known to man and require levels of purity that measures contamination in parts per quadrillion (ppq). Achieving these precise levels of purity requires filtration solutions that can prevent nanolevel particles, bubbles and ions from reaching the semiconductor substrate during manufacturing. Polymeric membranes are the core material which is used to capture these contaminants. These solutions help advanced high-tech manufacturers improve productivity, performance and technology to develop next-generation semiconductors and electronics.
Related Facts
- The level of contamination control required for advanced semiconductor technologies is far more stringent than in any other industry. Other industries deal with particle sizes in the 20 – 200 nanometer range (bacteria is 200 nanometers and the smallest virus is 20 nanometers). Entegris’ current line of filtration products helps control contamination from particles as small as 3 nanometers in size. This requires highly sophisticated and extremely advanced membrane filter manufacturing.
- For the next generation of semiconductor devices, the manufacturing environment must reach levels of purity that are measured in ppq. This means that the allowable level of contamination is one ppq, which is equivalent to one drop of water in a space the size of the Empire State Building.
Download the i2M Center Fact Sheet
Download the Entegris Infographic