Mass-Flow Controller

Redwood MicroSystems

Menlo Park, CA

Incorporating microelectromechanical system technology, the MEMS-Flow MFC measures only 29 x 25 x 8 mm to provide high-purity control of gas flow rates from 0.1 to 2000 std cm³/min. The controller's ceramic modules, which contain microfabricated valves, sensors, and orifices, can be attached to standard or customized manifolds using Viton, Kel-F, or metal seals. Inlet pressure range is 25—50 psid; maximum outlet pressure is 200 torr. The MFC provides ±1% full-scale accuracy and ±0.1% full-scale repeatability. The instrument's pressure-based technology uses absolute pressure sensors which are less sensitive to drift than thermal mass-flow sensors. Silicon Fluistor microvalves have no moving mechanical parts to generate contaminants, and the MEMS design reduces internal volumes to leave less surface area for moisture absorption to occur. No internal welds, seals, and fittings are needed, because all components and subsystems are mounted on common substrates.

Boat-Measurement Tool

August Technology

Edina, MN

The QBIS 7000 performs fast and accurate dimensional measurements on all types of quartz, silicon carbide, and plastic cassettes. The system uses machine-vision technology to perform nine standard measurements, as well as user-defined measurements, to determine whether boats have gone out of dimension during process use. Accuracy is ±0.0005 in. over the 11/5-m inspection area. The tool collects an average of 30 data points per minute. Approximately 5600 data points can be collected from a single 139-slot boat. On completion of the inspection cycle, the system delivers a pass/fail message, and the results can be either immediately reviewed or stored.

Stripper

Mattson Technology

Fremont, CA

Designed for fabrication of submicron devices, the Aspen Strip Turbo system has an average throughput of 130 wafers per hour in a single chamber for standard stripping applications. The retrofittable system is based on the Aspen Strip platform, which uses inductively coupled plasma source technology and in situ cleaning to remove resist and residue at low mobile ion contamination levels. The system can be retrofitted without process requalification or recharacterization. Both software and hardware enhance the overall throughput for standard strip layer on DRAMs and logic devices. Cycle times have been reduced by as much as 50% for small lots. To reduce process overhead, the system optimizes preheat and pressure change times.

Conveyor System

Shuttleworth

Huntington, IN

Designed for use in Class 1 environments, the Slip-Trak has a minimal number of components in order to reduce disruption to laminar airflow. The bidirectional system transports wafer pods or cassettes for 90° transfers. Embedded lift-and-transfer devices absorb the impact of cassette transfer by reducing g-force shock and vibration. Self-guiding rollers eliminate the need for external guidance mechanisms, and the design of the in-line gear motor drive minimizes turbulence in the active zone above and below the conveyor's surface.

Digital Flowmeter

Peek Measurement

Houston, TX

The DCT 6488 digital correlation transit-time flowmeter provides continuous multiplexed flow measurement for two, three, or four locations. The flowmeter's multichannel design permits points to be located on dissimilar streams located up to 1000 ft from the transmitter and MUX interface. Designed for clean-liquid applications, the flowmeter also tolerates liquids with a concentration of gas bubbles or entrained solids. The nonintrusive dual-head transducer assembly clamps to the outside of the pipe to permit installation without flow interruption, avoid drops in pressure, prevent contamination or leaks, and simplify compliance with OSHA and EPA regulations. A Windows-compatible program is provided for programming the flowmeter.

Gas Detector

Molecular Analytics

Sparks, MD

The IonPro-IMS line of analyzers detects airborne contaminants using four-channel sampling from several locations within the tool. The analyzer detects ammonia, n-methyl pyrolidone, amines, and acid gases. Housed in a NEMA 4X stainless-steel enclosure, the system incorporates ion mobility spectrometry to provide sensitivities in the range of parts per million to low parts per billion. No chemical reagents, tapes, or solutions are needed to operate the system, which requires only semiannual maintenance.

Digital Microscope Camera

Polaroid

Cambridge, MA

Suitable for failure analysis in semiconductor applications, the Digital Microscope Camera features a 12.15-mm pixel CCD sensor which allows users to capture 24-bit color digital images at a resolution of 1600 x 1800 pixels. The sensor is compatible with 1-in. and most 2/3-in. formats. An intelligent-image color-recovery system extracts and uses luminance information to produce photograph-type images. Rectangular pixels allow the camera to offer dual resolutions of 1600 x 1200 and 800 x 600. The camera can also be used for documentation, merging image and text, and transmitting reports to remote sites. Additional features include an integrated C-mount interface and software with two screen drivers. The first driver has a preview button that allows operators to see images in real time at up to five frames per second. The second screen captures the image and transfers it directly into the window of the TWAIN application or freezes the image with current settings for adjustments.

Semiconductor Dry Pump

Stokes Vacuum

Philadelphia, PA

The oil-free Stealth dry pump is 35 x 163/5 x 23 in., giving it a volumetric efficiency of 11.4 cu ft/min per cu ft and 21.8 cu ft/min per sq ft based on footprint. The pump can achieve a maximum of 88 cfm or, if used with a booster blower, up to 600 cu ft/min. It features clamshell-style, water-jacketed construction, with a hermetically sealed drive motor and no need for heat exchangers. The pump uses only 3 to 9 L/min of nitrogen.

Polishing Slurry

Intersurface Dynamics

Bethel, CT

AP/4, AP/5, and AP/6 alumina polishing slurries are designed for advanced metal processes requiring low defectivity and enhanced removal between different metal films. The slurries are also highly selective to dielectrics. All three reduce metal ion contamination before the CMP scrubbing stage. They can be dispersed again after extended shutdowns without risking hardening in the feed lines. All three are compatible with a variety of oxidizers.

Dissolved-Ozone Sensor

IN USA

Needham, MA

The Model dFFOZ sensor continuously monitors dissolved ozone in DI water over a concentration range of 1 to 100 mg/L. The plug-in sensor uses UV absorption to measure ozone concentration that is ozone specific and not affected by background contaminants. The instrument incorporates dual optical-path sample sensing to virtually eliminate the need for a reference gas measurement. It can be installed in a full-flow recirculating stream at flow rates ¾1500 std L/min. The housing is fire-retardant polypropylene fitted with a purge port and designed for installation in-line at the wet bench cleaning bath.

PVC Tubing

Thermoplastic Processes

Stirling, NJ

Excelon RNT tubing handles liquids, gases, or semiliquids for a variety of applications. The clear PVC tubing comes in 82 sizes from 1/16 to 4 in. ID. Lengths of 50, 100, and 500 ft are available.

Vacuum-Measurement System

Granville-Phillips

Boulder, CO

The Series 370 Stabil-Ion vacuum measurement system can measure to the lower 10^­11 torr range and provides long-term accuracy and repeatable vacuum process control. The system's calibration memory feature makes it useful as a NIST-traceable reference gauge for critical vacuum processes.

Clean Connect Box

Solvay Interox

Houston, TX

The Clean Connect Box ensures the purity of the company's PicoPure hydrogen peroxide from its point of manufacture to the customer's point of use. The box is a nitrogen-purged minienvironment that allows contamination-free connection of product hoses from the customer's hydrogen peroxide delivery system to the isocontainer. It also permits contamination-free product sampling.

Chemical Pumps

Trebor

West Jordan, UT

Maxim series chemical pumps contain no metal parts in either the pump or the control base for high-purity, high-temperature applications. The design incorporates a removable and interchangeable air-logic control base. The control base allows users to service the pumps without having to disconnect the chemical plumbing. The interchangeable control base and pump options can be configured for recirculation, chemical delivery, or external control. The pumps operate in temperatures ¾180°C. Flow capacity of the Maxim 50 model is ¾50 L/min at operating pressures of 80 psig. An external control base allows users to operate the pumps using existing air-control systems or by PLC/PC control with fiber-optic inputs.<>

CO^₂-Based Cleaner

Alpheus Cleaning Technologies

Rancho Cucamonga, CA

The CO^₂ EconoBlast Model PT-110 is designed to be an economical method of dry-ice cleaning. The tool uses rice-sized pellets of ice which disappear after striking the targeted surface. The dry-ice feed operates at an adjustable rate of 1 to 4 lb/min. The ergonomically designed machine weighs a little more than 100 lb and measures 14 in. wide. A variety of guns are available. The blast hose measures 15 ft long.

Chiller Series

Applied Thermal Control

Whitwick, UK

Designed for continuous operation, compact K-series chillers provide reliable precision temperature control for high-energy processes employed in analytical instrumentation and semiconductor fabrication tools. A K3 chiller with 2.9 kW capacity is 540 x 375 x 510 mm and has a footprint half that of other brands, according to the company. All routine service points can be reached without tools and the system has been designed to pass through a standard door frame. The chillers meet all legislative requirements, including EMC regulations, and carry the CE mark of compliance.

Trace-Oxygen Analyzers

Teledyne Analytical Instruments

City of Industry, CA

A line of trace- and percent-oxygen analyzers provides three user-selectable linear ranges, two fully programmable alarms, and autodiagnostics. The 3000TB and 3000P models require no support gases, offering an absolute zero. The Micro-Fuel cell produces a linear output from 0 to 100%, permitting the use of ambient air for calibration. The analyzers are in a bulkhead mount configuration and, for use in hazardous areas, a split-architecture version. They can be used separately or as components of a larger analytical system.

Process Equipment Bearings

Kaydon

Muskegon, MI

Reali-Slim thin-section bearings are designed to extend the MTBF performance of semiconductor production equipment. The LLPP series bearings feature stainless-steel races with either stainless-steel or ceramic balls. The bearings come in both angular contact "A" and four-point contact "X" configurations in both English and metric sizes. They operate dry or with specially made lubricants.

Slurry-Blending System

FSI International

Chaska, MN

The P6000 series slurry-blending and distribution system features high reliability, low shear rates, and flow rates ¾10 gal/min. Three models are available. All versions mix and dispense liquid slurries used in the CMP process. Mix ratios vary with each model. The units can combine up to three liquid slurry concentrates with ultrapure water to dilute the solutions. The dilution maintains solution assay values, and the solutions are dispensed under vacuum pressure to the point of use. The vacuum generator uses clean dry air or gaseous nitrogen-driven eductor with no moving parts. The cabinet offers 150% containment, and all flow-path materials are made of Teflon PFA. An optional on-line metrology package is available.

Diaphragm Manometer

Vacuum Research Corp.

Pittsburgh, PA

The VRC manometer monitors crystal-growing furnaces, LPCVD furnaces, sputtering systems, and other pump-down and backfill vacuum processes. The wide-range diaphragm manometer has a linear analog output and four set points that are adjustable over the entire range of 10^­3 to 1500 torr, each driving its own SPDT relay. Relay contacts are rated for up to 3 A at 220 V ac noninductive. The instrument is not affected by gas composition from 2 to 1500 torr or by transducer orientation, and it maintains an accuracy of better than ±1 torr regardless of changes in gas composition.

Vacuum Interface Sensor

Omron Electronics

Schaumburg, IL

The E32-V in situ interface sensing system detects objects such as wafers and FPD substrates inside vacuum environments. The system operates inside loadlock chambers and central wafer transfer chambers. A four-channel flange accepts either single or multiple sets of fiber cable and specially designed fiber-optic cables for in-chamber use. The flange saves space within the chamber and features snap-on fiber mounting to reduce installation time. The cables are made of fluororesin and stainless steel for use in harsh environments. The optimal leakage rate of the flange is 71/2 x 10^­10 torr.

Fire Detector

Fire Sentry

Cleveland, OH

The FS System 7 is designed and approved by Factory Mutual for wet-bench fire protection. The system's multispectral wide-band IR, near-band IR, and visible-band detector sees through gases, vapors, and smoke. The intelligent two-stage response of the system's electrooptical fire detectors allows time for nonhazardous wet-bench fires to extinguish themselves, thus averting a shutdown of the wet bench and loss of in-process wafers. The response alerts the operator and provides fast detection response. If the fire does not put itself out the system will activate the second alarm which activates a shutdown of the electrical power. FirePic software stores the prefire and actual fire detector sensor spectral data from the last six events in the detector's nonvolatile digital memory for analysis.

Adjustable Flow Switch

CTE

Deerfield Beach, FL

The 125-T-BP all-Teflon flow switch confirms the critical flow of sample media to a gas analyzer. The compact, close-differential, high-resolution adjustable, monitor has a maximum working pressure of 100 psig in Teflon, and the ports are 1Ž8 in. FNPT. The monitor comes in a variety of materials to improve media compatibility. Optional switch configurations include normally open, normally closed, or SPDT.

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