March 13, 2012 — Steam purification company RASIRC determined that a new wet thermal oxidation process on a RASIRC Steamer enables 87% better wafer throughput than dry oxidation of uniform thin oxides.
The study was conducted by RASIRC customer WRS Materials, comparing growth rate and uniformity of 1000 angstrom oxide film on 300mm wafers. The tests used a 400mm furnace to grow 1000 angrstrom oxide films. "300mm oxide wafers are needed by both OEMs for test and end users for products," said Richard Mee, president and COO, WRS Materials.
The RASIRC Steamer, which has closed loop flow control, was used to purify and deliver 50 liters of steam per minute. WRS found that the oxidation process step can be reduced from 100 minutes to 13 minutes while still meeting uniformity requirements.
3000 and 5000 angstrom films are typically grown with steam, noted Jeffrey Spiegelman, RASIRC founder and president. Moving 1,000 angstrom processes from dry oxidation to steam enables high uniformity with lower costs due to higher throughput, and higher volume production.
The report is available at http://www.RASIRC.com/regpages/papers.php?nn=ThinOxide
RASIRC products deliver ultrapure water vapor for semiconductor, photovoltaics, nanotechnology and other manufacturing applications. Visit: www.rasirc.com.