Does the semiconductor industry use compressed air?

Semiconductor Industry does use compressed air and compressed air plays a vital role in the semiconductor manufacturing process. The following is a detailed explanation about the use of compressed air in the semiconductor industry:

application Scenarios of 1. Compressed Air in Semiconductor Manufacturing

1. wafer Preparation and Cleaning:

   • environmental Control: In the wafer preparation process, compressed air is used to control the temperature and humidity of the production environment to ensure the stability of the wafer production environment.
   • Surface Cleaning: After the wafer is prepared, it needs to go through a precise cleaning step to remove the tiny dust and residue on the surface. Compressed air is used to purge the wafer surface to ensure surface cleanliness and avoid subsequent process defects.

2. lithography and etching:

   • photoresist Smearing: In the photolithography process, compressed air is used to purge the photoresist surface to ensure that the photoresist is evenly coated on the wafer.
   • Etching residue removal during the etching process, compressed air helps remove the residue after etching to ensure the accuracy of the etching effect.

3. thin film deposition:

   • pressure stability: During the film deposition process, compressed air is used to maintain the pressure in the chamber stable and ensure the uniformity and thickness consistency of the deposited layer.

4. Ion implantation and packaging testing:

   • pneumatic control in processes such as ion implantation, compressed air provides precise pneumatic control to ensure process stability.
   • Package Quality Assurance: In the packaging test phase, compressed air is used to provide high-pressure gas to ensure the packaging quality of the chip.

Compressed air quality requirements of 2. semiconductor industry

since the semiconductor manufacturing process requires extremely high environmental cleanliness, the quality of compressed air must also meet strict standards. Specifically, the quality requirements of the semiconductor industry for compressed air mainly include the following aspects:

1. cleanliness:

   • the compressed air contains almost no dust, particles and other impurities to prevent wafer contamination, short circuit and other problems in the semiconductor manufacturing process. According to the international standard ISO 8573-1, the semiconductor industry generally requires compressed air to be Class 0, which means that the air contains very low levels of pollutants.

2. dryness:

   • the dew point temperature of compressed air usually reaches -40 ℃ or even lower, and the corresponding water content is below tens of ppm. This is to prevent moisture in the air from condensing during the semiconductor manufacturing process, causing wafer contamination or short circuits.

3. Oil content:

   • the oil content in the compressed air should be controlled at a very low level, generally not more than 0.01 mg/m & sup3;. Oil contamination may result in wafer surface defects that affect the performance and yield of semiconductor products.

Composition and Operation of 3. Compressed Air System

in order to meet the high quality requirements of the semiconductor industry for compressed air, semiconductor factories usually use CDA (clean dry air) systems. The system mainly includes the following parts:

1. clean Dry Air Compressor: Provide high-quality, oil-free and dust-free compressed air.
2. Dryer: Used to remove moisture in compressed air and ensure the dryness of the air. Common dryer types include adsorption dryers and freeze dryers.
3. Filter: Used to remove dust, particles and other impurities in compressed air. Semiconductor factories usually use multiple filters of different precision to ensure air quality.
4. Gas tank: Used to stabilize the pressure of compressed air and provide supplementary gas when the demand is greater than the compressor capacity.

In summary, compressed air has a wide range of applications in the semiconductor industry and has extremely high requirements for air quality. By using high-quality compressed air systems and strict air quality control measures, semiconductor factories can ensure product quality and production efficiency.