Semiconductor Factory Compressed Gas Demand

The demand for compressed gas in semiconductor plants is characterized by high purity, multi-category, stable supply and strict quality control.:

1. core requirements: high purity and multi-category gases

1. high purity requirements
   semiconductor manufacturing requires extremely high gas purity, usually up above 9N(99.9999999%), some advanced processes (e. g., 7 nanometers and below) even require individual impurity concentrations below 0.1 ppb(100ppt). For example:
   • nitrogen (N₂): As the most commonly used inert gas, it is used to purge the wafer transfer box (FOUP), protect the reaction chamber environment, and prevent oxidation or contamination. Large plant nitrogen consumption per hour 50,000 cubic meters.
   • Argon (Ar): As a protective gas in photoresist plasma etching to prevent the wafer surface from being oxidized.
   • Silane (SiHH4): Used for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to form silicon-based films with a purity of up more than 6N(99.9999%).
2. Multi-category gas applications
   • etching gas for example, sulfur hexafluoride (SFI) and nitrogen trifluoride (NFI) are used to form precision circuit patterns on the wafer by plasma etching.
   • doping gas: Such as phosphine (PHZI), arsine (AsHZI), used to change the electrical properties of semiconductor materials, the formation of p-type or n-type region.
   • thin film deposition gas for example, ammonia (NH3), silicon monoxide (SiO), thin films are grown by CVD or atomic layer deposition (ALD) techniques.
   • Lithography support gas: Such as high-purity oxygen (O₂), used for photoresist removal to ensure pattern transfer accuracy.

2. critical demand: stable supply and flow control

1. stable supply system
   • semiconductor factory to be established multi-source supply system, including on-site gas production, pipeline transportation, tank car transportation or cylinder group supply to meet the risk of sudden demand or supply interruption. For example, a large plant is often equipped with a nitrogen generator, but a spare cylinder set is reserved.
   • intelligent monitoring system: Real-time monitoring of gas consumption through flow meters (such as thermal gas mass flow meters), combined with Internet of Things technology to achieve remote monitoring and data visualization, optimize gas efficiency. For example, a factory installed a TGF460 flow meter to improve the accuracy of compressed air usage measurement ±(1.5%RD+0.5%FS), range ratio 100:1 significantly reduce energy consumption.
2. Precise flow control
   • in processes such as etching and deposition, the gas flow rate needs to be precisely controlled sccm (standard cubic centimeter per minute) level to ensure consistency of reaction conditions. For example, piezo flush valves enable high-precision metering of nitrogen flow with very low energy consumption.
   • High Pressure Diffuser (HPD): Used in the gas sampling link, reduce the pressure by diffusing the gas, protect the particle counter sensor, and ensure the accuracy of particle counting.

3. Core Challenges: Quality Control and Cost Control

1. quality Control
   • particle and Impurity Control: Particles, oil vapor, or moisture in the gas can cause wafer defects. For example, a diameter 0.1μm the particles can trigger a lithographic short circuit, so the compressed air needs to reach Class 0 Standard(Oil content <0.003 mg/m & sup3;, pressure dew point <-70 ℃).
   • online monitoring system: Through multi-stage adsorption drying, nano-scale filtration purification, with the sensor real-time detection of gas purity, to prevent the spread of pollution.
2. Cost control
   • energy consumption optimization: Compressed gas systems account for the total energy consumption of semiconductor plants. 20%-30% it is necessary to reduce operating costs through energy-saving technologies (such as variable frequency compressors and waste heat recovery).
   • reduce waste for example, the use of closed control loops to actively meter the nitrogen flushing process can significantly reduce nitrogen consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in large plants.

4. Future Trends: Technology Upgrading and Green Manufacturing

1. technology upgrade
   • with 3D NAND Memory and large size wafer demand growth, more stringent requirements for gas purity and flow control, promote the development of special gases (such as high-purity xenon, krypton) and intelligent production technology integration.
   • Advanced Process Driven Requirements: 7nm and below processes, etching gas market share is expected to increase more than 50% the demand for thin film deposition gases is growing due to the popularity of ALD technology.
2. Green manufacturing
   • the government cooperates with enterprises to promote the circular economy model and reduce the environmental impact of gas production. For example, reducing transportation energy consumption by optimizing the supply chain layout, or using alternative gases with low global warming potential (GWP).