Suppliers of TMG improve capacity to adapt to LED market 
Dow Electronic Materials has announced a multi-phase plan to expand its production capacity for Trimethyl Gallium (TMG). And it will be located in Cheonan, approximately 85 km south of Seoul, Korea.
The plan includes adding significant TMG capacity in North Andover. And Dow Electronic Materials will build a new manufacturing plant in Korea, expected to begin operating in early 2011, to meet the long-term demand. Total multi-phase plan is expected to be 60 metric tons per year.
In March 2010, SAFC Hitech, a division of the Sigma-Aldrich Group, announced plans to invest $2 million to expand production of TMG at its UK manufacturing plant in Bromborough, Wirral (the former Epichem).
Metalorganic precursors such as TMG are used in the metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process to grow layers of different semiconductor materials.
According to James Fahey, global general manager, Growth Technologies for Dow Electronic Materials, demand for TMG today is being driven by explosive growth in LED backlighting of LCD TVs with the potential of future growth of LEDs in the general lighting market. The LED market is growing rapidly, particularly in Korea, Taiwan and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region where there is a large display manufacturing base and semiconductor manufacturers are building and converting capacity to manufacture LEDs.
SAFC Hitech also cited the "growing demand for [TMG] in the production of high-brightness LEDs for applications such as backlighting in flat-panel television sets and energy-efficient lighting."
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