By Matthew Milburn, Mohamed Saleem, Bruce Wier, Sowmya Krishnan, Ultra Clean Technology

A modular gas-distribution system for standard surface-mount components has been designed for gas-panels. This patented technology provides a lightweight, lower cost and more flexible alternative to other systems. This system also allows easy field repair and replacement of system elements in situ an installed production tool. Other technologies typically require removal of at least one entire gas “stick” to service any portion, involving excessive downtime and risk of contamination. The system requires a minimal number of standard pieces that can be combined to form most conceivable gas flow paths.Yet, practical deployment of manufacturing-aware IC design flows has eluded mainstream IC development because of the inherent difficulties in balancing yield-enhancing manufacturing requirements with performance-optimizing design requirements.