SIAD semiconductor process gases are used throughout every stage of manufacture - from growing single crystal silicon to each wafer fabrication process step: oxidation, chemical vapour deposition, sputtering, resist, etch, thermal diffusion and ion implantation.
Gas Applications in Semiconductor Manufacturing
A reliable supply of high purity gases is critical to advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Producing an integrated circuit requires over 30 different process gases for etching, deposition, oxidation, doping, and inerting applications. The range of gases used is broader than in virtually any other industry. Trace impurities at the parts-per-million, parts-per- billion, and even parts-per-trillion levels must be measured and eliminated.
Semiconductor process gases are classified as:
- silicon precursors
- dopants
- etchants
- atmospherics
These include nitrogen and oxygen, produced on-site by the separation of air or delivered as cryogenic liquid, argon, delivered as cryogenic liquid, and hydrogen, delivered as a compressed gas.
Nitrogen is used widely in many processes to provide an inert environment or to purge reactive gases after the completion of a process.
Oxygen is used for the oxidation of silicon, one of the most critical processes in all of semiconductor manufacturing.
Argon is used to provide an inert environment for sputter deposition of metals (where even nitrogen is too reactive and leads to the formation of metal nitrides).
Hydrogen, delivered in bulk as a cryogenic liquid or produced on-site, is used to provide a reducing environment for annealing metal films.
SIAD's full line of semiconductor process gases ensures reliability and consistency no matter where a wafer production site is located.
