SBIR Phase II: A Quality Monitor for Enabling Water Recycling in Semiconductor Processing - The Particle Scout

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目涉及超纯水（UPW），半导体行业的生命血液。拟议的文书力求在两个方面满足ITRS的要求：1.全流程检查; 2.检测100 nm以下的液体颗粒。1.一个典型的半导体晶圆厂每天使用约300万加仑的UPW，ITRS为了保护宝贵的资源--水，要求到2010年90%的UPW被回收/再利用。回收的UPW回路将需要全流量监测，拟议中的粒子探测器将完成这一任务。2. UPW的纯度直接影响芯片产量，因为晶片上的最终操作是UPW冲洗，并且UPW中存在的任何污染物都会污染其冲洗的晶片。随着行业向100 nm以下节点发展，ITRS颗粒检测要求降至50 nm以下。“Particle Scout”用于实时监测半导体加工中使用的回收UPW的颗粒纯度，成功克服了当今IC制造业面临的关键技术障碍。除了IC制造业，它还将在所有使用UPW的企业中找到应用：发电，核反应堆，制药工业，生物技术，太空探索和先进的高纯度化学品加工。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Project concerns Ultrapure Water (UPW), the life blood of the semiconductor industry. The proposed instrument seeks to satisfy the ITRS requirements on two counts: 1. full flow inspection, and 2. detection of sub-100nm liquid-borne particles. 1. A typical semiconductor fab uses about 3 million gallons of UPW every day, and the ITRS, in its attempt to conserve the precious resource, water, mandates that 90% of UPW be recycled/reused by 2010. The recycled UPW loop will need full flow monitoring, which the proposed Particle Scout will do. 2. The purity of UPW directly affects the chip yield, because the final operation on wafers is UPW rinse and any contaminants present in the UPW contaminate the wafers it rinses. As the industry moves to sub-100 nm nodes the ITRS particle detection requirements fall to sub-50 nm. "Particle Scout" for monitoring in real-time the particulate purity of recycled UPW for use inSemiconductor processing successfully overcomes a critical technological barrier facing the ICmanufacturing industry today. Beyond IC manufacturing industry it will find applications in allenterprises where UPW is used: Power generation, Nuclear Reactors, Pharmaceutical industry,Biotechnology, Space exploration, and processing of Advanced high purity chemicals.