HydrOzone Process for Stripping Applications
Semitool Inc. offers the release of its HydrOzone process for post-plasma strip and post-ash cleans, organic cleans, and photoresist stripping applications. The patent-pending process uses a mixture of ozone and water to achieve low-cost cleaning, eliminating sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) from the process and reducing water consumption by as much as 99%. The net effect is a significant reduction in the cost of ownership for cleaning applications. Unlike other ozonated water processes that operate at subambient temperatures, HydrOzone operates at elevated temperatures, thereby increasing the reaction rate and resulting in resist removal at rates up to 15 times greater than subambient processes. Semitool's process uses less ozone gas than other systems due to the highly efficient manner in which the ozone is applied to the surface of the wafer.
The HydrOzone process has been demonstrated on a wide range of resist types, including hardbake, plasma etched, UV exposed, and implanted. Successful removal of these surface films clearly shows the capability of the process to achieve organic cleaning or bulk resist removal. Semitool is offering the process in its Class 1, Magnum, and Spectrum product lines. It will be available in the near term in its single wafer product lines. The company states that the process can be retrofitted via an upgrade kit to Semitool equipment currently installed and operating with other chemical-based processes, thereby providing an opportunity for cost reduction without purchasing new equipment.
Semitool Inc., Contact: Dana R. Scranton, 406-751-6360.