This looks interesting
ATMI's Ecosys Unit Announces Oxygen Difluoride Removal Process; Innovative Non-Caustic Method For Wafer Fabrication Plants
DANBURY, Conn. and SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 1, 1998--EcoSys, the semiconductor environmental solutions business of ATMI, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATMI), today announced an innovative method to treat hazardous fluorine gas emissions from semiconductor processing tools.
EcoSys's development essentially eliminates the risk of producing potentially lethal oxygen difluoride (OF2) by treating corrosive fluorine gas with its non-caustic, liquid scrubbing solution.
Dr. Jose Arno, Chief Technologist of EcoSys, said, "We improved F2 abatement by combining EcoSys liquid scrubbing technology with a unique injection system that uses an inexpensive, non-caustic chemical agent. This new solution eliminates caustic material use to reduce F2 corrosiveness."
Greg Snell, Vice-President of Marketing, said, "Our customers asked us to eliminate the need for using caustic solutions--such as sodium or potassium hydroxide--for treating F2 effluents. This innovative solution is now an integral part of our Vector(R) liquid scrubbing product line. We've tested its effectiveness in our labs using challenges equal to actual process conditions. As new chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber cleaning technologies are introduced, we expect to see more F2 emissions from fab processes, needing treatment before release into house scrubber systems. With EcoSys's new OF2-free solution integrated in our point-of-use liquid scrubbers, F2 effluents can be effectively treated, dramatically limiting potential health risks."
EcoSys is presenting a technical paper covering the test results of this new solution at the PFC conference during SEMICON/West in July, where it will also introduce this new solution to customers.
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) recently warned of the hazards of oxygen difluoride (OF2). OF2--produced when using caustic solutions to treat fluorine gas (F2) effluent emitted from CVD process tools--is potentially lethal, posing serious health and safety risks in semiconductor wafer production facilities. Established guidelines set by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) for OF2 are a toxicity threshold limit value (TLV) of 0.05 parts per million (ppm), or 50 parts per billion (ppb).
EcoSys is a world leader of point-of-use CVD, Etch, Ion Implant, Diffusion and Photolithography environmental abatement equipment. Founded in 1986, EcoSys is committed to producing responsible and sustainable semiconductor manufacturing solutions using environmental technologies and services. |
