March 9, 2012 — Fraunhofer Center Nanoelectronic Technologies (CNT), Dresden, is collaborating with bubbles & beyond to jointly develop novel cleaning solutions for the microelectronics industry, specifically, removing lithographic materials from semiconductor wafers.
During the two-year collaboration, bubbles & beyond and Fraunhofer Center Nanoelectronic Technologies will create novel decoating products for semiconductor applications with the goal to provide a more efficient, more cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative to currently available wafer clean surface treatments, which are primarily composed of aggressive chemicals.
The novel cleaning approach is based on bubbles & beyond’s proprietary phase fluid technology (intelligent fluids), which is successfully in use for other microelectronic applications. Fraunhofer CNT brings the necessary semiconductor expertise, the respective research know-how and comprehensive, highly precise measurement analysis to the project.
The collaboration focuses on the assessment and optimization of the efficacy of customized cleaning solutions. Moreover, semiconductor-specific criteria will be analyzed, e.g. critical materials, process stability and contamination risks. Based on the findings, it will be examined if the new technology is suitable for the removal of lithographic laquers. Subsequently, the assessment will be expanded to other process steps.
bubbles & beyond is a technology company focusing on the development of customized intelligent fluids for industrial, cosmetic, and medical applications. Please visit www.intelligent-fluids.com for further information.
Fraunhofer Center Nanoelectronic Technologies (Fraunhofer CNT) combines research and manufacturing on the premises of Infineon Technologies, with an 800m² cleanroom (class 1000), 130m² of laboratory space and a leading 300mm toolset. More Information: www.cnt.fraunhofer.de