High-Purity Connectors

EM-Technik

Maxdorf, Germany

Series 1 D cleanroom connectors feature industry-standard threads for wide adaptability. They are made from a tube that has been widened to fit snugly into the sleeve of the fitting. Fastened to the fitting with a nut, the tube has an inside diameter that remains constant and unobstructed. Ultrapurity is maintained through a multistep system of cleaning, assembling, and packing. Connectors are ultrasonically cleaned, rinsed, dried, assembled, tested, and packed in two heat-sealed bags. To prevent the penetration of particles, the inner bag is filled with nitrogen. The connectors come in PVDF, PFA, or natural PP to ensure high resistance and ease of handling.

300-mm Dummy Wafers

Clean Air Solutions

McCall, ID

Made of borosilicate, 300-mm dummy wafers can be used for testing, setup, and cycling of 300-mm process and handling equipment. The wafers meet or exceed SEMI M8-0997 Class C specifications. Notch profile is 1-mm radius ±0.25 mm. Measuring ~4000 Å, the coating is chromium with a silicon dioxide overcoat that is free of visible voids, pinholes, and scratches. The optical coating works with most sensor technologies. Wafers are also available without optical coating. Coated and noncoated wafers are available at specified prices for quantities of 1 to 5, 6 to 24, 25 to 99, and 100 or more.

Resist Removal Tool

GaSonics International

San Jose, CA

The PEP Iridia can perform both photoresist and residue removal operations in a single chamber without damaging chips or leaving residue. The dry-plasma process offers a lower cost of ownership than wet chemistries for such applications as postimplant resist and postetch residue removal. Using the Iridia module on the multichamber PEP platform can reduce the costs of chemicals, water, and waste disposal as well as lessen environmental impact. One configuration option is the Iridia DL, which features an overhead lamp tray that rapidly heats the wafer to facilitate bulk and implanted photoresist removal. This option provides closed-loop temperature control that can speed process steps for increased throughput.

Cleanroom Robots

Slurry-Dispensing Valve

Laser Cutting Tool

Schott

Yonkers, NY

A laser cutting tool for flat-panel display glass makes high-quality cuts without creating particles. While glass has traditionally been cut using a mechanical scribe-and-break process that causes fragmentation, edge chips, and microcracks that may generate particles, the laser technique uses a beam to apply heat to the glass. The glass is then immediately cooled, generating a stress-induced cut that results in complete separation. The tool cuts flat glass in thicknesses of 0.03 to 10 mm, display glass, and glass tubing.

Wafer Inspection Station

Ceramic End Effectors

NetMotion

Fremont, CA

Ceramic end effectors made from fine ceramic alumina by Asuzac are ultrathin and durable, offering electrical insulation and heat, corrosion, and abrasion resistance. Manufactured for wafer sizes up to 300 mm, they are suitable for process equipment using vacuum or nonvacuum end effectors with paddle or fork designs. Alumina purity ranges from 99.5 to 99.9%. Silicon carbide is available for high-temperature and thermal-shock applications. An optional Teflon coating surface treatment can be ordered for the end effectors when antistatic properties and smoothness are required.

Aerosol Particle Counter

Particle Measuring Systems

Boulder, CO

Made for spot monitoring of cleanrooms, the Abacus aerosol particle counter has four size channels with sensitivities from 0.3 to 0.5 µm. The small, handheld counter stores up to 500 data sets, and it operates in English, French, German, and Spanish. The battery-operated instrument can be used for point-of-use particle checks at critical locations. The counter has a built-in RS-232-C communications interface for connection to a personal computer or printer. Used with a Windows-based software program called CountWin, the counter retrieves information from memory and sends it to a spreadsheet program on a PC.

ICP-MS

Perkin-Elmer

Norwalk, CT

The ELAN 6100 DRC inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer eliminates argon-species interferences, making possible the detection of iron, calcium, potassium, and arsenic in semiconductor-grade chemicals. Detection levels are parts per trillion and parts per quadrillion. Proprietary dynamic reaction cell technology reduces primary interferences and eliminates sequential side reactions that can create isobaric interferences. Plasma-based polyatomic species are removed before they can enter the quadrupole mass spectrometer. Using a normal plasma, the spectrometer avoids the disadvantages of cool- or warm-plasma approaches. It also provides multielement analytical efficiency and high sample throughput. The cyclonic sample-introduction system minimizes contamination to permit accurate elemental measurements at extremely low levels. Windows NT—based software provides automated control of the reaction cell.

Dummy Wafers

Asahi Glass Electronic Materials

Hillsboro, OR

Ultra-high-purity, 100% CVD silicon carbide (SiC-CVD) Aegis dummy wafers are a reusable, cost-effective alternative to silicon wafers. Made in an advanced CVD process, they resist etching by hydrofluoric and nitric acids during cleaning. Their chemical stability provides an etch rate more than 1000 times slower than that of silicon wafers. The material's surface condition remains essentially unchanged after numerous acid cleaning processes, preventing contamination and outgassing. Since the wafers' coefficient of thermal expansion is similar to that of polysilicon and nitride films, particle generation is lower than that for other dummy wafers. The wafers are available with or without a flat notch, and with various thicknesses and surface finishes.

Dielectric Etch System

Lam Research

Fremont, CA

The dual-frequency Exelan dielectric etch system for processing 0.18-µm devices has a streamlined design that features a single RF power supply and fixed-gap chamber that minimize components. Hard-mask opening, inorganic and organic ARC etching, and photoresist stripping are performed in situ within a single chamber. The system's process portfolio includes all dual-damascene structures, contacts, vias, spacers, and passivation etch in doped and undoped oxides and low-k dielectrics. Throughput can exceed 70 wafers/hr in some critical applications. The system also includes closed-loop active RF and wafer-area pressure control.

Cleanroom Garments

Plug-and-Socket Set

Nitto Kohki

Hanover Park, IL

The Hi Cupla Ace plug-and-socket set is suitable for use in water, air, and inert-gas applications. Made of engineering plastic, the coupler weighs between 27 and 35 g and features a proof pressure equal to 285 psi. A push of the plug into the socket is all that is necessary to achieve a secure connection, facilitating connection and disconnection in hard-to-reach places. A sleeve-locking mechanism prevents untimely disconnections. Both the Hi Cupla Ace and standard Hi Cupla sets offer bidirectional fluid flow from the plug or the socket.

Wafer Stepper

Ultratech Stepper

San Jose, CA

The Model 1500MVS wafer stepper adds to the 1500 platform the alignment flexibility of a machine vision system. As a pattern-recognition alignment technique, machine vision eliminates the need for large scribe lines to accommodate dedicated alignment targets. It can be taught to recognize virtually any distinctive feature as a target, thus possibly increasing yields. The stepper is designed for easy integration into fabs with a wide variety of equipment.

Gas Purifier

NuPure

Manotick, ON, Canada

The UltraPure Eliminator is a room-temperature gas purifier capable of removing multiple contaminants to achieve sub-parts-per-billion levels of purity. THC can be reduced to 0.5 ppb. Available in dual- and triple-stage versions, the purifier can be regenerated for years of use and a low cost of ownership.

Defect Detection System

Leica Microsystems

Deerfield, IL

The LDS 3000 automatic wafer defect detection and classification system scans 4- to 8-in. wafers and detects defects on the fly. It classifies random and systematic defects as killer or nonkiller and bins them into defect types automatically. The cassette-to-cassette system permits 100% wafer inspection without operator involvement. Resulting defect maps can be sent to an external defect management system for additional analysis and archiving. The flexible tool is adaptable to the particular requirements of various front- and back-end-of-line processes. A single tool can provide both defect location and classification when the Viscon ADC is mounted on the system.

Cryogenic Valve

Acme Cryogenics

Allentown, PA

A stainless-steel extended-stem cryogenic gas valve comes in vacuum-jacketed and nonjacketed versions. Sizes range from 1/2 to 2 in. The standard configuration for service with liquid oxygen, nitrogen, argon, or liquefied natural gas is a nonbellows design. The valve can be configured with a bellows seal for use with liquid hydrogen and helium. The valve's design reduces heat leak into the valve and maximizes service life. Other features include O-ring seals, external stem threads, and metal-to-metal secondary seat seals. By means of an actuator kit, a standard manual valve can be adapted for actuated capability. The valve is offered with linear, equal-percentage, or quick-opening plugs.

Wafer-Identification Reader

Post-CMP Cleaner

Silicon Valley Chemlabs

Sunnyvale, CA

CMC-475 cleaning solution can be used for the post-CMP cleaning of slurry particles and planarization by-products from wafers that incorporate copper interconnect and low-k dielectric technologies. The buffered, slightly acidic solvent dissolves CMP slurry without corroding copper, aluminum, or tungsten thin films or Ti, TiN, Ta, or TaN barrier films. Additives in the cleaner create a negative zeta potential, facilitating repulsion of planarization by-products from the wafer. The solution also minimizes PVA brush loading from copper oxides and polishing slurry. The nontoxic, biodegradable, high-flash-point chemical can be used in all post-CMP wafer-cleaning equipment at process temperatures ranging from 20° to 75°C.