What is the role of compressed air in semiconductor equipment

In the semiconductor manufacturing process, compressed air, as the key power source and process medium, runs through many core links of chip production, and its role is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

1. Pneumatic control and automatic drive

• valve and Actuator Operation compressed air drives pneumatic valves, fixtures, mechanical arms and other actuators to realize high-precision actions such as wafer transmission, positioning and alignment. For example, in a lithography machine, a pneumatic system controls micron-level movement of a wafer stage to ensure exposure accuracy.
• Automated production line power: Semiconductor equipment (such as etching machines, cleaning machines) rely on compressed air to drive cylinders, sliding tables and other components to complete wafer loading, unloading, flipping and other processes to improve production efficiency and consistency.

2. Process gas delivery and mixing

• carrier gas and dilution gas compressed air is used as a carrier gas to transport special gases (such as silane and chlorine) to the reaction chamber to participate in deposition, etching and other processes. At the same time, by adjusting the compressed air flow, the concentration of the reaction gas is accurately controlled, and the film thickness and uniformity are optimized.
• gas mixture ratio: In chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or atomic layer deposition (ALD), compressed air is mixed with process gas to form a stable gas flow distribution and ensure the quality of wafer surface deposition.

3. Clean and dry environment maintenance

• clean room positive pressure maintenance after the compressed air passes through the high efficiency filter (HEPA/ULPA), it forms a clean air flow, maintains the positive pressure of the clean room, prevents the intrusion of external pollutants, and ensures the high cleanliness of the chip manufacturing environment (such as Class 1).
• Internal purging of equipment before and after wafer processing, compressed air is used to purge residual particles and chemicals inside the equipment to prevent cross-contamination. For example, after photoresist coating, the wafer surface is rapidly dried with dry compressed air.

4. Auxiliary vacuum system

• vacuum pump pre-pumping: Compressed air drives the pre-pumping stage of the vacuum pump to quickly reduce the pressure of the reaction chamber and create conditions for subsequent high vacuum processes (such as plasma etching).
• Leak Detection: Charge the equipment with compressed air, check the tightness, ensure that the vacuum system has no leakage, and maintain the process stability.

5. Cooling and temperature control

• device heat dissipation: Compressed air passes through the cooler or air-cooled system to take away the heat generated by the equipment (such as lasers and power modules) to prevent performance degradation or failure caused by overheating.
• Process temperature regulation in certain processes (such as rapid thermal annealing), compressed air is mixed with nitrogen to control the wafer heating/cooling rate and optimize material properties.

6. Safety and emergency protection

• emergency braking: Compressed air drives the safety valve and pneumatic brake to quickly stop the mechanical movement in the event of equipment failure or power failure to avoid wafer damage or personal injury.
• Fire protection system some semiconductor factories use compressed air to drive dry powder fire extinguishing devices to quickly respond to fire risks.

Compressed air quality requirements

compressed air quality is extremely demanding in the semiconductor industry and must meet the following criteria:

• particle control: ISO 8573-1 Class 1 (0.1 ~ 0.5μm particles ≤ 20/m & sup3;) to prevent particle contamination of wafers.
• Oil content: ≤ 0.01 mg/m & sup3;(CLASS 0), to avoid oil caused by short circuit or material performance deterioration.
• Moisture control: Pressure dew point ≤-70 ℃, to prevent condensation water from corroding equipment or affecting the process.

Typical application scenarios

• lithography process: Compressed air drives the wafer table to move slightly to ensure the uniformity of photoresist coating.
• etching process: Through the pneumatic valve, the reaction gas flow is precisely controlled to achieve nano-scale etching accuracy.
• Encapsulation Test: Compressed air drives the test probe card to contact the wafer to complete the electrical performance test.

Advantages of Grantklin Water Lubricated Single Screw Air Compressor

in the semiconductor field, Granklin water-lubricated single-screw air compressors meet demanding requirements through the following characteristics:

• zero oil pollution: Water film lubrication replaces lubricating oil to completely eliminate the pollution of oil to compressed air.
• Low temperature operation: Water cooling effectively controls the compression temperature to avoid oil carbonization or particle formation caused by high temperature.
• Low noise design: The combination of high-frequency compression and water film shock absorption technology reduces the interference to the clean room environment.
• intelligent control the Internet of Things module supports remote monitoring, real-time adjustment of pressure and flow, and adapts to the fluctuating demand of semiconductor production.

Conclusion compressed air is the "invisible blood" of semiconductor manufacturing, and its quality directly affects chip yield and equipment life. Granklin water-lubricated single screw air compressor with oil-free, clean and efficient core advantages, provides reliable power guarantee for the semiconductor industry, and helps the production of high-precision and high-reliability chips.