(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dow Electronic Materials, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW), today announced that key new materials in chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) and printed circuit board (PCB) layout are successfully enabling the manufacture of next-generation electronic devices. Dow's IKONIC™ CMP Polishing Pad series has secured global adoptions in both memory and logic at major customers with multiple fabs for 16 nm / 14nm semiconductor manufacturing. Addressing PCB layouts, Dow's CIRCUPOSIT™ 6000 Electroless Copper process will launch in early 2015, delivering a high-reliability solution for high-density interconnect (HDI) circuit boards.

The next generation of semiconductor chips will be manufactured at the 16 nm /14 nm nodes, with the ramp-up to high-volume manufacturing starting early next year. The IKONIC Polishing Pad series is meeting the technology requirements for these nodes, while also delivering increased pad lifetime and reduced cost of ownership. Dow supports its global customer base by manufacturing and supplying IKONIC Polishing Pads from its Taiwan and U.S. facilities.

"Dow is continuously innovating the IKONIC platform to address emerging requirements and new applications," said Mario Stanghellini, global business director at Dow Electronic Materials. "Today, the IKONIC platform is in production or qualification at top semiconductor companies in the world."

Smartphones and tablets, especially the high-end models, are the primary drivers for the ever-increasing circuit density of today's PCB designs, which require every layer interconnect (ELIC) structures. Dow is a market leader in the metallization process, which is critical to maximizing yield and performance for these devices.

"Dow's new CIRCUPOSIT 6000 Electroless Copper Process will offer enhanced microvia reliability and improved performance to meet customers' requirements for future HDI PCB products," said JR Chen, global business director at Dow Electronic Materials. "Our expertise in metallization allows us to deliver a more sustainable process, reduce treatment costs, and enable a more stable process while helping to decrease cost of ownership for our customers."

Dow's technologies are focused on meeting current and future requirements in electronic materials to address emerging trends. The Company works closely with its customers to understand their product roadmaps, thereby ensuring ability to meet the performance demands of the next generation of electronic devices.

About Dow Electronic Materials

Dow Electronic Materials, a global supplier of materials and technologies to the electronics industry, brings innovative leadership to the semiconductor, interconnect, finishing, photovoltaic, display, LED and optics markets. From advanced technology centers worldwide, teams of talented Dow research scientists and application experts work closely with customers, providing solutions, products and technical service necessary for next-generation electronics. These partnerships energize Dow's power to invent. Its key end-use applications include a broad range of consumer electronics from personal computers, to television monitors, smartphones and tablets, and other mobile devices as well as electronic devices and systems used in a variety of industries.http://www.dowelectronicmaterials.com.

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company is driving innovations that extract value from the intersection of chemical, physical and biological sciences to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, clean energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's integrated, market-driven, industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 180 countries and in high growth sectors such as packaging, electronics, water, coatings and agriculture. In 2013, Dow had annual sales of more than $57 billion and employed approximately 53,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 6,000 products are manufactured at 201 sites in 36 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

distributed by