Semiconductors are manufactured through stages of photolithography, etching, and thin film deposition onto wafers. They are widely used in information and communications technology, industrial instruments, space transportation, etc., and have become an inseparable part of our lives.
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An abundance of chemical waste is produced during the complex manufacturing process, examples include organic waste effluent and acidic exhaust gas. Managing and reducing the chemical waste produced during the manufacturing process is a common goal that industries strive to achieve. For example, recycling chemical waste during the manufacturing of substrate semiconductors.
LCY Chemical Corp (hereinafter referred to as LCY) is helping the semiconductor industry alleviate the impact on the environment and reduce carbon emissions through our innovative Electronic-grade isopropyl alcohol (EIPA) Dual Cycle Circular Economy Model. It is our goal to facilitate sustainable economic and environmental development. Read on to understand why and how LCY is committing to reducing chemical waste during the semiconductor manufacturing process.
Electronic-grade isopropyl alcohol (EIPA) is commonly used by the semiconductor, IC, TFT-LCD, LED, and PV industries during the cleaning stage of the manufacturing process, i.e., the EIPA is commonly used during the semiconductor wafer cleaning process. EIPA is highly effective in removing watermarks and particles, making it a critical chemical that directly determines the quality of the end product.
As the wafer manufacturing process becomes more advanced, the industry’s standard for purity and cleanliness has become more stringent. As a result, the use of EIPA has increased over the years. However, after taking into consideration the difficulty in management, redistributing recycling pipelines, and the complex regulations related to waste recycling and transportation, the industry players mostly opt to burn used isopropyl alcohol (UIPA). This leads to a significant amount of carbon dioxide emission while leaving no room to recycle reusable material.
To slow the depletion of the Earth’s resources and lower environmental impact while supporting the positive development of the semiconductor industry, LCY spent years on research and development and engaged in constant communication with its clients. In the end, LCY improved on the traditional method for the waste effluent recycling process and created the EIPA Dual Cycle Circular Economy Model to help achieve the goal of economic and environmental co-prosperity.
In the first cycle (chemical), LCY collects UIPA from the manufacturing process and distills it to once again become EIPA. In the second cycle (water), water from UIPA is completely recycled and collected for industrial use by LCY factories, achieving the goal of zero liquid discharge.
Green manufacturing is one of the critical operational strategies for the modern-day tech industry. The semiconductor industry’s waste and water management have also become the focal point.
Since the Model’s initiation in , LCY is now able to collect and recycle -10,000 tons of waste effluent every month. The Model effectively recycles waste, offers an innovative solution for carbon emission, and reduces the risk of complete petrochemical resource depletion. LCY’s Model drives green transformation for the semiconductor industry supply chain and helps its customers to create the industry’s green competitiveness.
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Electrically conductive structures on microchips are separated by ultrathin insulation layers that have a thickness of only a few nanometers. To prevent disruptive discharge and chip failure, the insulating layers must be hyperpure and possess an even thickness throughout.
For more information, please visit Electronic Chemicals for Wafer Cleaning.
In chip production, insulation layers are created in a process which experts refer to as plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). This coating method uses plasma to heat the wafer in cleanroom conditions to a temperature between 500 °C and 1,200 °C Silane is then fed onto the heated wafer surface where it is deposited in a chemical reaction to yield a solid insulating layer.
To increase productivity, manufacturers are keen on the fastest possible deposition. With low heating time and under high temperatures, however, wafers are subject to stress. This can lead to a faulty crystalline structure of the silicon and subsequently to rejects. To make sure this doesn’t happen, microchip manufacturers require a silane that allows the fastest possible deposition at a moderately high temperature.
This is where WACKER’s specialty silanes play a crucial role. With tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), WACKER provides the right silane for producing a quartz glass-like layer of amorphous silica. This presents a good trade-off between the intended high deposition rates and the requirement to avoid rejects.
Today, WACKER’s specialty silanes are the go-to material for many manufacturers who appreciate the consistently high quality of our products.
The process of chemical vapor deposition causes solids to be deposited on the process chamber walls. Over a period of time, the solids deposited increase to such an extent that particles can easily fall off and land on the wafer surface. Consequently, chips manufactured from such wafers are useless.
To prevent this, regular cleaning of the process chamber is a must. To this effect, manufacturers resort to hydrogen chloride gas, which etches the deposits off the chamber walls. It goes without saying that the hydrogen chloride used should be hyperpure in order to prevent new impurities from being deposited on the chamber walls and then falling off to land on the wafers.
WACKER’s SEMICOSIL® HCl 5.5 is a hydrogen chloride with a purity level of 99.999 percent. “This means we even exceed the current purity requirements of microchip manufacturers and are thus in an ideal position to meet the challenges of an ever-changing market,” explains Business Development Manager Sigrid Rothenhäusler.
WACKER uses rock salt from its own mine to produce hydrogen chloride. The composition and purity of the salt mined there is especially suitable for the production of this hyperpure gas.
Before superimposing structures on a microchip, care should be taken to ensure that the wafer surface is absolutely flat and smooth before depositing silane onto the next layer. Chip manufacturers accomplish this by polishing smooth the topmost layer so as to eliminate any unevenness. This is achieved with a high level of precision by implementing a process known as chemical-mechanical polishing that combines mechanical abrasion with chemical etching.
Pyrogenic silica is simply perfect for chemical-mechanical polishing. Just like granules in a facial scrub, the flocculent powder removes any excess material. “Polishing slurries that contain our product are more abrasive than colloidal silica that is frequently used in the semiconductor industry. This is particularly advantageous for chip manufacturers who aim to achieve a high level of material abrasion,” explains Arne Meier.
In addition to its high degree of purity, the narrow size distribution of the abrasive particles is an outstanding property of pyrogenic silica made by WACKER. The entire manufacturing process is controlled to ensure that no large particles are formed. “You can be absolutely sure that there will be no scratches as a result of polishing,” highlights Meier.
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