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A Forensic Investigation of the Contamination Impact of an Aging Wafer Scrubber

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2011

Clifton Draper ,
Mike Gordon ,
Angelo Laduca ,
John Dolcin ,
Roger Kragness  and
Bill Possanza
Clifton Draper
Affiliation:
AT&T Engineering Research Center, P.O. Box 900, Princeton, NJ 08542-0900
Mike Gordon
Affiliation:
SEMATECH, 2076 Montopolis Drive, Austin, TX 78741
Bill Possanza
Affiliation:
AT&T Microelectronics, 555 Union Blvd, Allentown, PA 18103
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Abstract

A wafer scrubber used in bipolar wafer front-end fabrication for particle removal showed visible evidence of deterioration. We describe the analytical work undertaken to identify the nature of the deterioration, its impact on the DI water quality exiting the nozzles and used for the high pressure scrubbing, and finally how these corrosion products manifest themselves as metal contaminants on wafer surfaces. A reasonable explanation for the long term deterioration of the tool is found in the fact that carbon dioxide has been used in the DI water at this scrub for nearly a decade. This of course acidifies the water and makes the stainless steel components more susceptible to corrosion. The scrubs are typically followed with wet chemical cleans using spray processors. The effectiveness of this clean in removing the metal contamination is incomplete. The removal of these scrubs from product log sheets has been a contributing factor in producing measurable yield improvements.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 315: Symposium Y – Surface Chemical Cleaning and Passivation for Semiconductor Processing , 1993 , 321
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1993

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References

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