UPW and Liquid Chemicals System Improvements - Q&A

This presentation was given as part of the Ultrapure Micro 2021 annual conference. It was given as part of the ultrapure water strand.

This presentation was given as part of the Ultrapure Micro 2021 annual conference. It was given as part of the ultrapure water strand.

The complexity of integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing for advanced nodes, paired with the growing demand for higher yields and lower defectivity, requires close alignment among industry stakeholders. New systematic improvements of system design, material choice and quality assurance methodologies are needed to minimise every possible source of contamination and variation in the manufacturing process. An extensive collaborative effort between SEMI Standards Task Forces and IRDS roadmap teams, representing the IC manufacturing supply chain, is focused on developing industry best practices to enable proactive yield management. As a result, relevant SEMI Standards are being revised to focus on the quality of UPW and liquid chemicals, design and operation of related systems, qualification of polymer assemblies and process critical materials and components. This article was originally published in the Ultrapure Micro Journal in March 2019.

The ability to conduct current through a liquid is measured by conductivity and can be related to the concentrations of ions in the solution. In this work, a patented analytical technique is used to quantify the contaminant level of specific chemicals in an on-line ultrapure water (UPW) system. The method uses a resistivity system with additional mathematical techniques to exploit the physical relationship between temperature and resistivity. This method utilises the slope between resistivity/temperature curves and not the absolute resistivity. The theoretical conductance of chemicals is compared with experimentally-measured values from 1 parts-per-trillion (ppt) to 10 parts-per-billion (ppb). This work helps establish the characteristics of compounds that can be measured with this technique and determines the limits of detection, and therefore has a potential commercial application. High conductance compounds like sodium chloride and potassium hydrogen phthalate are measurable at the 100 ppt level while low conductance compounds like boric acid cannot be discerned from the background. As the method matures into a product the limits of detection should be lowered. This article was originally published in the Ultrapure Micro Journal in March 2019.

This Q&A session took place at the 2020 Ultrapure Micro annual conference. It was a part of the AMC, Liquid Chemicals & Gases Control track, and included speakers from the Contamination Control in Liquid Chemicals session.

This presentation was given at the Ultrapure Micro 2020 annual conference. It was presented in the AMC, Liquid Chemicals & Gases Control track, as part of the Contamination Control in Liquid Chemicals session.

This presentation was given at the Ultrapure Micro 2020 annual conference. It was presented in the Ultrapure Water Production track, as part of the UPW and Liquid Chemicals System Improvements session.

This presentation was given at the Ultrapure Micro 2020 annual conference. It was presented in the Ultrapure Water Production track, as part of the UPW and Liquid Chemicals System Improvements session.

This presentation was given at the Ultrapure Micro 2020 annual conference. It was presented in the Ultrapure Water Production track, as part of the UPW and Liquid Chemicals System Improvements session.

This presentation was given at the Ultrapure Micro 2019 annual conference. It was presented during the Learning Series, as part of the Ultrapure Water Production track.