Dow Electronic Materials, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company (DOW), unveiled its new polishing pad platform IKONIC. These pads are the most advanced for chemical mechanical planarization (CMP).
The IKONIC pads are specifically designed to provide the best performance for the broadest range of CMP applications at or below the 28 nm technology node. The IKONIC pad platform consists of a number of products, which provide numerous benefits in copper, tungsten, Inter-Layer-Dielectric (ILD), Shallow-Trench-Isolation (STI) and other polishing applications.
The pads improve performance of higher wafer yields and help to extend the pad lifetime leading to greater tool uptime. They are instrumental in enhancing planarization efficiency and wafer topography. These pads also fulfill the removal rate targets for throughput gains and selectivity requirements to address process needs.
The IKONIC pads platform addresses the ever changing technological needs and caters to customer requirements for lower defectivity and improved cost of ownership. The pads are expected to hit the market in 2013 and are available for sampling presently.
Michigan-based Dow is a leading chemical company whose products are used across a broad spectrum of industries. The company posted earnings of 55 cents a share in the second quarter of 2012, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 64 cents and significantly trailing the year-ago earnings of 85 cents a share. The decline in profits was due to weak economic conditions in Europe and soft demand.
Revenues tumbled 10% to $14,513 million, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15,961 million. Sales fell across all segments except Agricultural Sciences, which recorded double-digit revenue growth in the quarter. Revenues in Europe slid 10%, largely due to unfavorable currency movements.
Dow Electronic Materials recorded lower sales in the quarter, hurt by a weak electronics industry. However, the business saw volume gains in Semiconductor Technologies.
Dow expects lower-than-expected recovery in the global economy in the second half of the year. The company plans to beef up cost reduction and efficiency improvement programs to deal with the challenging macroeconomic environment.
The company faces stiff competition from EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (DD). Currently, the stock retains a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term (1 to 3 months) Hold rating.
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