by John Dowd
With computers and ever smaller processing chips on the rise, components like semiconductors are in high demand. The process for creating these can be skill and technology intensive. Semiconductors are used primarily in memory devices, such as random access memory (RAM) and Logic devices like central processing units (CPUs). These are essential for all devices from computers to phones, smart TVs to smart watches and a growing number of smart tools people see and use every day.
According to Dave Keck, general manager of Advanced Material Solutions LLC (AMS) out of Missoula, Stevensville will soon be home to a facility that creates key components in the creation of these semiconductors.
AMS creates and supplies equipment other companies use to create the liquids, gases and materials used in manufacturing semiconductors. Having done this since 2018, the company realized there was a whole other market it could tap into. That idea grew into SemiLink Materials, a business that would create and supply the gases themselves, and would be based on Hwy 93 just north of the Stevensville Junction.
“Instead of providing the equipment, we now own and operate the equipment,” said Keck. “Why not,” he added.
For them it seemed like a simple step to open production, which would create small volume, yet high value, products. They could then ship them all over the country within a couple days. With a single bottle of certain materials costing upwards of a couple hundred thousand dollars and the quantities so small, shipping and trucking costs would be minimal. Keck explained that the volume really is very small, with bottles often being no bigger than a welding gas tank on the large end and as small as a medical oxygen bottle on the low end.
They plan to sell exclusively within the U.S. The materials their equipment produces include the top ten or 20 of the most essential gases for producing semiconductor chips. The process is straightforward, yet extremely complex. To oversimplify it, it relies on something called chemical vapor deposition, which essentially employs an enclosed space with the chip present. The gas is released into the space and it settles via heat, cooling or other chemical reaction. The film created from the settled gas is then layered, often combining many layers of multiple materials, circuitry or others, to produce the finished chip.
SemiLink Materials will produce only the materials to be used by other companies in the manufacture of semiconductors. Because they will work with numerous companies, a large warehouse is a requirement. The companies that produce the chips often each have their own requirements as to the types of gases, tanks and cleaning process they will accept in order to maintain high standards of safety, containment and material purity. This means that some companies even use specific tanks for specific gases, and will require new tanks for every batch. In the end, SemiLink Materials will need a plethora of tank types and sizes and a place to store them.
SemiLink Materials will also need to go through a long and extensive certification process to produce and sell the gases. This could take up to two years, and involves sending numerous samples to various companies for testing of purity and to confirm the results that SemiLink Materials has found in their own state-of-the-art laboratory. In this interim, they will sell no products, and it will be an investment of both time and money. According to Keck, this will be a “hurry up and wait,” scenario. Once that “certificate of analysis,” is achieved, SemiLink will step into its next phase, hiring around 15 more people.
These jobs will be high paying, said Keck, with a six-month-long training period. They do not require a college degree and will give preference to local residents, assuring they have the passion to stay in the area.
“We find that Montana people want to stay in Montana,” said Keck, who is also from Montana, along with many of his coworkers. He spoke about how there are few high paying technical jobs in the state, which can make it difficult for families and young people to stay here.
Keck and others believe this will further trickle down into the local economy. To those that will be hired, Keck also said, “You would learn pretty special skills,” which he believes, “creates high value jobs,” and eventually, “results in more investment into the future and the community.”
SemiLink Materials believes they will officially open their doors by January of 2025. The entire project has been estimated to cost around $20 million. When asked why they chose to open up shop in Stevensville, instead of in Missoula where their parent company is located, Keck explained their reasoning. First, he said the land and property pricing was better. However, a bigger part of it was they have always found Ravalli County good to work with and a great community.
SemiLink Materials’ main building is still under construction, which will hopefully be finished within a couple months, said Keck. Their facility will be state-of-the-art for safety and material purity. They are one of the only locations in the state with a modern air sealed chamber. The building as a whole will also complete up to 10 air exchanges per hour, and will be equipped with advanced gas detection equipment. The facility even includes what Keck called a “fancy dishwasher,” which is essentially a giant machine that chemically cleans used tanks for re-use. All of this effort is meant to maintain the utmost purity of these high value gases and liquid materials.
Keck and others with SemiLink Materials are excited about the prospects their company can create, for them and for the state of employment in Montana. They also hope to be a driving force in keeping these materials U.S. made and sold.