Metal Etch Scrubber

Mechanism

The removal of thin films from the surface of a wafer is an important step in the manufacture of today's semiconductor devices. One of the most important removal steps is the patterning of metal layers which serve as connections between layers on a microchip, or other semiconductor device. The wafer is first patterned by photolithography, and then the etching process removes exposed metal areas, transferring the pattern to the metal layer. In this process, the etch gases are introduced into an electrical field. This field ionizes the gases, creating a plasma full of energetic ions. This plasma etches the wafer through several mechanisms. The first involves actual physical etching. This occurs when the highly excited ions smash into the wafer, breaking off a part of the surface. The second mechanism utilizes the high reactivity of the ionic species present in the plasma. These species diffuse to the wafer surface where they react with the exposed layer to form a volatile by-product that is swept away in the effluent gas stream.

We have developed a scrubber to capture and treat fumes from metal etch process using adsorption technology.

Highlights

Point of use scrubbing protects workers by removing dangerous acid gases at the earliest possible point. This greatly reduces the dangers associated with a leak in the exhaust system.

Drizgas Tech uses specialized carbon media to get high removal efficiency than the normal carbon media. The saturated carbon can easily disposed in non-hazardous landfills.