In every major semiconductor fabrication facility, raw materials and chemicals are purchased from outside sources. This can lead to a big quality issue if the incoming materials aren’t up to your facility’s quality standards. Simply, poor-quality raw materials will lead to sub-par ICs.
METTLER TOLEDO has a line of inspection, validation, and qualification equipment that will ensure incoming raw materials and chemicals are high-quality enough to meet your specs and final product quality demands.
Creating a semiconductor starts with raw silicon that must be refined to achieve the ultra-pure, single-crystal form necessary for semiconductor manufacturing. Production plants start by purifying raw silicon to remove any impurities before melting it down. This is essential to ensuring the performance and reliability of the final semiconductor. The crystal growth process allows the silicon atoms to rearrange themselves into a single crystal structure as they solidify, forming a final large cylindrical silicon ingot. During crystal growth, specific impurities, or dopants, are added to modify the crystal's electrical properties and to create p-type or n-type semiconductors. Finally, the grown silicon ingot undergoes annealing, a heat treatment that removes stresses and defects in the crystal structure, ensuring uniformity and quality.
The ingot-pulling process happens in a confined and isolated furnace and requires days of time for completion. Therefore, ensuring the ingot development process is crucial to improving the product yield. METTLER TOLEDO ultra low profile floor scales can be placed under the growth furnace, which gives the real-time change in the weight data, ensuring process continuity.
Once the silicon ingot is grown, the next critical step is to slice it into thin wafers. These wafers serve as the substrate for the integrated circuits. The ingots are first trimmed to remove irregularities and to create a flat surface before being sliced into thin wafers using diamond saws or wire saws. Typically, wafers are sliced to a thickness of 200 to 300 micrometers. The rough-cut wafers are thoroughly cleaned to remove any debris or contaminants which were deposited from the slicing process.
Wafer manufacturing facilities and chip manufacturing facilities will often use multiple different compounds, chemicals, gases, and raw materials as part of processes. When chemicals enter the facilities, the entire delivery vehicle is typically weighed. This will give you data about how much material is coming in, but it won’t tell you the purity or composition of the materials.
However, this quick check will allow you to avoid issues associated with under- or over-delivery of raw materials. Quick vehicle weighing will help you predict production issues that could be caused by having too little raw material on-hand.
Once containers are unloaded and brought into your facility, they can be checked for quality before being used in your semiconductor manufacturing operation.
METTLER TOLEDO load cells and floor scales will allow you to get exact measurements of materials before using them in your facility. It also provides an opportunity to reverse-engineer the combination of chemicals present in a compound. METTLER TOLEDO laboratory scales and analytical instruments will allow you to inspect the raw materials and check for quality before use.
Polishing efficiency relies on the oxidation process occurring on the silicon wafer. You can use various techniques, such as titration, to determine the concentration of H2O2 in the solution that produces the slurry. Alternatively, measuring the density or refractive index provides a fast, simple, and safe analysis.
Incoming chemicals like silane, oxygen, and nitrous oxide are used during the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) process. Argon is later used to remove contaminants. All of these gases require incredible quality to have the right impact on your wafers.
Photolithography usually utilizes photoresist chemicals, developer solutions (like TMAH), anti-reflective coatings, and solvents sourced from outside suppliers. The quality of your solvents, like IPA or acetone, is typically trivial and won’t have a big impact on your process. However, photoresist chemicals will determine the quality of your photolithography process.
Photoresist manufacturing is a complex task that combines high-precision chemical formulation, strict quality control, and fine craftsmanship. The accurate execution of each step is crucial.
Ensuring the accurate weight of photoresists in each container during the filling process is essential and impacts not only the consistency of product quality but also the economic efficiency and market reputation of the company.
In this critical process, industrial weighing technology becomes the cornerstone of photoresist quality, especially in the accurate measurement of raw materials, precise control of ingredients, accurate filling, and final quality inspection of products.
Poor raw chemicals will lead to uneven coatings and unaccelerated lithography. The chemical stability and sensitivity of the photoresist materials are often linked to the pH of the solution, which can efficiently be measured using METTLER TOLEDO pH meters and sensors.
Etching operations remove specific materials or areas from your wafer. This is done using chlorine, hydrogen bromide, oxygen, fluorine-based gases (dry etching), or company-specific formulas of chemicals (wet etching). The chemicals, sourced externally, can have massive variations in quality and chemical composition, which will then influence the quality of the etching process.
Ensuring the accurate preparation of acids at supplier facilities leads to consistently high-quality materials, which are essential for achieving reliable and precise etching processes. By utilizing advanced weighing solutions, manufacturers enhance production reliability, streamline operations, and support a commitment to sustainable practices, ultimately leading to better resource management and cost-savings over time.
The pH of the chemical solutions used during the etching process can efficiently be measured using METTLER TOLEDO inline and offline pH sensors, while the concentration of etchant and the different molecules formed along the process can be determined using our titrator solutions.
In stripping operations, you will likely use oxygen plasmas, sulfuric acid, hydrogen peroxide, NMP, or dimethyl sulfoxide. All of these solvents are used to strategically and specifically remove portions of photoresist on a silicon wafer. The quality of the chemicals will, therefore, influence the quality of the stripping process and can be monitored using density and refractometry measurements.
It is essential to closely monitor the quality of the wash solution, as any impurities on the surface of the silicon wafer can negatively impact subsequent processing steps and compromise the final product's quality. Precise in-situ monitoring provides real-time insights into the condition of the bath, enabling timely replenishment, which can be highly cost-efficient for the overall manufacturing process. Our ReactIR and ReactRaman™ probes offer an easy and effective way to track the composition of cleaning or wash baths, ensuring optimal quality throughout production.
Verifying the concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) or sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) in cleaning solutions. UV/VIS spectrophotometry ensures that these solutions are within the correct concentration range for effective wafer cleaning.
With our help, you can have better insight into the quantity, quality, and composition of your raw materials.
Load Cells and Floor Scales: Provide exact measurements of bulk materials to avoid under- or over-delivery issues.
Precision Balances: Ensure accurate weighing of incoming raw materials for precise control and quality assurance.
MS/ML Analytical Balances: Ensure precise measurement of chemicals, which is crucial for maintaining the purity and consistency of the silicon ingot.
Balances: Ensure accurate weighing of incoming raw materials for precise control and quality assurance. Ensure precise measurement of chemicals, which is crucial for maintaining the purity and consistency of the silicon ingot. Ensure precise weighing of the wafer. Verify the density and purity of silicon and other solid raw materials to maintain high-quality standards.
Density Meters: Verify the density and purity of chemical solutions to maintain high-quality standards.
Melting (Boiling) Point: Verify the purity of the solvents used in the process.
Thermal Analysis Instruments: Analyze the thermal properties of materials to ensure they meet specifications.
Moisture Analyzers: Determine moisture content in raw materials to prevent contamination.
Titrators: Precisely measure the concentration of chemicals used in various processes.
pH Sensors and Meters: Monitor and control pH levels in chemical solutions used throughout the process. Precise pH control is crucial for effective etching, cleaning, or doping of the chips.
UV/Vis Spectrophotometer: Ensure that raw materials and chemicals meet high purity standards, crucial for semiconductor manufacturing processes. Identify specific impurities based on their absorbance characteristics.
By leveraging METTLER TOLEDO's advanced analytical equipment, your semiconductor operation can ensure the highest quality of incoming raw materials, leading to superior end products.
Discover cutting-edge instruments designed to advance semiconductor R&D, ensuring precision, reliability, and innovation in material and device development.
.png/_jcr_content/renditions/cq5dam.web.1280.1280.png "In-Line pH Probe / ORP (Redox) Probe")
We understand that precision and reliability are essential in your work, and our solutions are designed to support you every step of the way. Our team is dedicated to keeping your equipment running smoothly so you can focus on what matters most—achieving groundbreaking results. Let’s work together to enhance your efforts and drive innovation in the semiconductor field.
