High Vacuum Production in the Microelectronics Industry

1. Introduction. 2. High Vacuum Requirements for Wafer Processing: PVD. CVD. Plasma etching. Ion implantation. 3. Safety: Tightness means safety. Oxygen pumping. Servicing. Handling gases. Risks with pump exhaust lines. Monitoring. 4. Selecting a Vacuum Pump: Vacuum pumps classification. Ultimate vacuum. Pumping speed. Maximum compression ratio. Hydrocarbon emission. Crossover pressure. Vacuum pumps selectivity. Associating vacuum pumps. 5. Use of Oil Sealed Mechanical Pumps: Corrosion resistance. Oils for mechanical vacuum pumps. Exhaust connection. Bubbler. Use of the gas ballast. Effluents handling. 6. Use of Traps. Cold traps. Sorption traps. Ionic traps. The catalyser trap. 7. High Vacuum Pumps: The Roots pumps. Turbomolecular pumps. Cryopumps. Diffusion pumps. 8. Reducing Wafer Contamination. Hydrocarbon pollution. Dust pollution. 9. Vacuum Measurement and Pump Monitoring. Vacuum measurement. Pressure gauges used in microelectronics. Vacuum system monitoring. Partial pressure measurements. Flowmeters. References and Additional Reading. Appendices: Gases commonly used in electronics. High vacuum calculation (basic). Glossary of common terms used in wafer processing. Frontier equipment - the dry pumps. Subject Index.