Process optimization through online monitoring of parameters such as water quality, acids in etch baths, and metal content in plating baths for example saves time and significantly lowers production costs.
Monitoring processes in the semiconductor industry
Integrated circuits are the fundamental component of modern electronic goods. In our digital era, smaller, faster, and more powerful processors are in constant demand for many goods and services. The semiconductor industry is largely responsible for improving many aspects of modern society as many services have been digitized and interlinked (e.g. Big Data, Internet of Things, and smart grids).
Inside the semiconductor fabrication facility, cleanliness is crucial, considering the scale of the working surfaces (nanometers). Contaminants of all types can result in defects, leading manufacturers to adopt ever stricter production control procedures. A single fabrication plant can use up to 15 million liters of ultrapure water every day. Even bacteria must be removed, as they contain trace elements which can modify the electrical properties of the silicon wafer used to create transistors for integrated circuits.
There are several steps in processing the raw material (monocrystalline silicon) into a finished integrated circuit. Each stage requires a significant amount of attention to detail to ensure the quality of the finished product is high. Process optimization through online monitoring of parameters such as water quality, acids in etch baths, and metal content in plating baths for example saves time and significantly lowers production costs.
Online process analyzers from Metrohm Process Analytics are a must-have in any semiconductor plant to run processes closer to ever tighter specifications, reducing waste and improving various manufacturing stages.
Metrohm has compiled a brochure with analytical solutions significant to the semiconductor industry. Download it using the link below.
Topics:
- Ultrapure water specifications
- Wastewater from circuit production
- Concentrated copper waste analysis
- Dilute metal waste stream analysis
- Wastewater monitoring of several components
- Production control of electroplating baths
- Accurately measure brighteners, levelers, and suppressors
- Precise measurements even in saline conditions Concentrations in mL additive per L bath liquid
- Suitable for acidic copper baths, alkaline zinc baths, tin-lead baths, tin baths, and more
- Multicomponent determination in a single run
- Impurities in electroplating baths
- Concentrated acids in etching solutions
- Nitrate in nickel baths
- Ion analysis in emulsions and soap-containing rinsing solutions
- Trace analysis in ultrapure water
- Fast, in-situ, non-destructive analyses
- Mixed acid baths
- TMAH in water
- SC1 / SC2
- HF-Dip
- HotPhos (H3PO4 in water)
Metrohm Process Analytics offers several analytical techniques in many different analyzer configurations for any need: titration, photometry, ion chromatography, NIR spectroscopy, and ion-selective measurements. Metrohm’s online process analyzers and custom sample preconditioning systems are supported by our local service engineers in Australia and New Zealand.
