John Goodman, CTO, Entegris

John Goodman (Source: Entegris)

John Goodman is senior vice president and chief technology and innovation officer for Entegris (Chaska, Minn.). He first came to Entegris (Fluoroware) in 1982. Prior to the August 2005 merger with Mykrolis, he was president, then managing director of the company's fuel cell market sector. From 1999-2002, Goodman was executive vice president and CTO after having served in a variety of positions. He currently serves as the president of the policy committee at the U.S. Fuel Cell Council, on the board of directors of Protomold, and is on the Minnesota Renewable Hydrogen Initiative Steering Committee and the External Advisory Council of the University of Minnesota's Institute for Renewable Energy and the Environment. Goodman has a B.S. in aerospace engineering and an MBA from the University of Minnesota. Entegris provides products and services to purify, protect and transport critical materials (such as silicon wafers and fluids) in semiconductor and other high-tech industries.

SI: Entegris recently completed its merger with Mykrolis and dropped its gas delivery component business. What's your new direction in the semiconductor sector?

Goodman: It's not so much a new direction, but a continuation of the one that we've been on — with considerably more capability. By joining Mykrolis and Entegris, we're able to purify liquids and gases and transport, store and protect them. The merger has added tools to the kit, enabling us to care for and handle raw materials in a much broader scope.

SI: Will there be anything new?

Goodman: Certainly! For example, now we'll be able to do more in the subsystems area. Before, filtration was one set of components and the delivery systems for liquids and gases another. Then there are those components that take care of flow control, process measurement and so on. Now they're all combined, and this will enable us to add more value by giving us the capability to put together subsystems to purify, transport and control critical fluids and gases.

SI: What about wafer handling?

Goodman: Traditionally, we've been a major player in that area, with SMIF pods and FOUPs. We can now add to this airborne molecular contaminants purification, so that as processes continue their move toward environments — within mini and micro environments — that are not necessarily atmospheric, but certainly considerably cleaner than what we've had in the past, we are now able to not just protect those environments, but also create cleaner ones by bringing in filtration capabilities.

SI: How has the merger with Mykrolis proceeded? Generally, there are a few bumps when corporate cultures merge.

Goodman: I've previously participated in mergers, and can say that in this instance it has proceeded surprisingly painlessly. The companies are coming together very well, and this is facilitated by our similar cultures and approaches. Also, our focus is complementary. A reason why mergers don't work well is too much overlap. This hasn't been the case here; our technologies fit together very well, so there aren't that many competing interests — we're both building on our strengths. For instance, if you consider filtration, you have membrane technology, housings and other facets that compose it. All this uses the same basic disciplines in polymer material science that our wafer handling and fluid control products employ.

SI: Now that the merger is finalized, is the R&D effort being refocused?

Goodman: In a way. Rather than looking at discrete elements of what each company will do, we'll be doing more work with subsystems, on bringing technologies together in ways that will allow us to add more value. I refer to those subsystems where it's not just filtration or purification, but liquid control and delivery. Of course, we'll continue our R&D on liquid filtration, membrane technology, materials science and wafer handling.

SI: New materials and processes are being introduced at rates that very few years ago would have seemed impossible. What effect does this have on you?

Goodman: Materials science is a cornerstone of our company, so when we look at a process change, whether it's a different chemistry or a new interconnect that drives a whole new process — like CMP — it opens an opportunity for innovation and allows us to outpace developments.

SI: Will silicon ever run out of steam?

Goodman: (Smiling) You can never say never. However, in the technology's present state, I am hard-pressed to guess. I am by nature an optimist, and remember how often we've told ourselves that we're running out of steam here or are going to hit a physical barrier there. Once, we were never going to get below 1 µm, optical lithography had reached its physical limits, interconnects would prevent faster clock speeds, and copper could not be used because it's a contaminant. All of these have been solved with a combination of innovative breakthroughs, typically in the materials science arena. So when I consider silicon's demise, I find I cannot decide what would kill it without allowing us to find some workaround in the form of an innovation or materials science breakthrough. That being said, there are interesting technologies out there, such as IC creation through inkjet printing on polymer films. I suspect silicon won't meet its end until something now unforeseen comes along that will displace it.

SI: Nanotech perhaps?

Goodman: There are amazing things taking place in that field. We're researching carbon nanotubes and other areas. What we see right now is a hybridization of the technologies. For instance, in the area of conductive materials, there are ways to use nanotechnology to get better characteristics and properties. Everyone seems to agree, however, that because of the difficulty and cost involved in producing some of these nano materials, commercialization is some years away. This is the sort of thing that we try to watch out for, because typically it isn't the established industry leaders that see the disruptive technologies coming. It's unlikely that the industry would see a disruptive technology, whether it comes from the nanotech arena or a completely unrelated field that might impact planar silicon. This is the sort of thing that tends to surprise you.

SI: What will be the device maker's biggest nightmare over the next two or so years?

Goodman: The main focus for everyone these days is cost and productivity. However, an important challenge that is coming — and it goes beyond the fab — is keeping up with what I see as an amazing convergence of the many technologies out in the world today. Device makers must ensure that their IC technology keeps pace with the needs that arise. Convergence isn't new, but the way it works today is: my cell phone is my PDA, Internet device, MP3 player, digital camera, etc. The foundation for the convergence of all these technologies is the IC. Cost and productivity are always a focus, but the device maker now must ensure that he keeps up with the various requirements and technology maps to create the ICs or multichip modules that enable the success of these converging technologies.

SI: Are there any trends we ought to be tracking?

Goodman: Yes. As convergence continues and we expect more out of our handheld and portable devices, an important issue we're going to face is power. We're running into the physical limits of batteries and the curve that shows the improvement of batteries — measured both by how long they will operate and how long it takes to recharge them — is flattening out. We aren't seeing as much progress year-to-year in terms of the operating life of a battery and reduction of its recharge period. Look around in any airport and you'll see people fighting over outlets to recharge their PCs or cell phones before hopping on the plane. We're going to see a convergence of technologies to power these devices — one will be portable fuel cells powered by methanol, and further improvements in battery technology. We cannot behave like ostriches; we must pull our heads out of the sand and consider these other areas. Companies like Intel are starting to seriously consider what the next generation of power will be for these devices. If your PC is wireless, you don't want to be hunting for an outlet or carry four battery packs with you. The next generation of power will be one of the exciting developments to look for in coming years that will fuel even more changes that benefit industry and consumers alike.