Contamination, electron resists

Silver reduces the oxygen evolution potential at the anode, which reduces the rate of corrosion and decreases lead contamination of the cathode. Lead—antimony—silver alloy anodes are used for the production of thin copper foil for use in electronics. Lead—silver (2 wt %), lead—silver (1 wt %)—tin (1 wt %), and lead—antimony (6 wt %)—silver (1—2 wt %) alloys ate used as anodes in cathodic protection of steel pipes and stmctures in fresh, brackish, or seawater. The lead dioxide layer is not only conductive, but also resists decomposition in chloride environments. Silver-free alloys rapidly become passivated and scale badly in seawater. Silver is also added to the positive grids of lead—acid batteries in small amounts (0.005—0.05 wt %) to reduce the rate of corrosion. 

In neutral and alkaline environments, the magnesium hydroxide product can form a surface film which offers considerable protection to the pure metal or its common alloys. Electron diffraction studies of the film formed ia humid air iadicate that it is amorphous, with the oxidation rate reported to be less than 0.01 /rni/yr. If the humidity level is sufficiently high, so that condensation occurs on the surface of the sample, the amorphous film is found to contain at least some crystalline magnesium hydroxide (bmcite). The crystalline magnesium hydroxide is also protective ia deionized water at room temperature. The aeration of the water has Httie or no measurable effect on the corrosion resistance. However, as the water temperature is iacreased to 100°C, the protective capacity of the film begias to erode, particularly ia the presence of certain cathodic contaminants ia either the metal or the water (121,122). 

In addition, all of the process raw materials must be clean and not iatroduce contaminants. The raw materials and temporary coatings must also be defect-free, and these have to be manufactured under similar conditions so that no contaminants are iatroduced. The solvents used to clean the substrate and develop the resists must be filtered and pure. Care must also be taken to ensure that no trace compounds or elements are present that may affect the electronic properties. The specific type of coating aid, the type of functional coating, and the process used to apply the functional coating are all widely varied ia actual practice. 

Tetrachoroethylene (perchloroethylene, PCE) is the only chlorinated ethene that resists aerobic biodegradation. This compound can be dechlorinated to less- or nonchlorinated ethenes only under anaerobic conditions. This process, known as reductive dehalogenation, was initially thought to be a co-metabolic activity. Recently, however, it was shown that some bacteria species can use PCE as terminal electron acceptor in their basic metabolism i.e., they couple their growth with the reductive dechlorination of PCE.35 Reductive dehalogenation is a promising method for the remediation of PCE-contaminated sites, provided that the process is well controlled to prevent the buildup of even more toxic intermediates, such as the vinyl chloride, a proven carcinogen. 

Using UV-visible and IR spectroscopies, thermal analyses and scanning electron microscopes measurements, Young and Slemp studied the performance of several polymeric materials after exposure to an outer-space environment . PEN exhibited good environmental resistance to the oxygen-induced erosion, UV-induced degradation and spacecraft-induced contamination in such an environment [33],... 

All standard cleaning processes for silicon wafers are performed in water-based solutions, with the exception of acetone or (isopropyl alcohol, IPA) treatments, which are mainly used to remove resist or other organic contaminants. The most common cleaning procedure for silicon wafers in electronic device manufacturing is the deionized (DI) water rinse. This and other common cleaning solutions for silicon, such as the SCI, the SC2 [Kel], the SPM [Ko7] and the HF dip do remove silicon from the wafer surface, but at very low rates. The etch rate of a cleaning solution is usually well below 1 nm min-1. 

The significant variation of the barrier height observed for immersed junctions reflects the experimental difficulties associated with determining the tunneling constant, k. Two key issues are contamination of the junction and uncertainty as to the structural and electronic character of the tip [104], Recent data clearly reveal a dependence of the apparent barrier height on tip-substrate separation [7,92-94,104]. Specifically, the effective barrier is observed to diminish for resistance values below <10 Q as shown in Fig. 

As in all processing steps, cleanliness of the exposure hardware is of paramount importance. Any particle that lands on the resist prior to exposure, will shield the film underneath the particle from the exposing radiation and give rise to opaque spots in the case of positive resist, or pinholes in the case of negative resists. Particulate contamination is especially troublesome with electron beam and ion beam systems where the probability of a particle landing on a substrate is increased relative to other techniques because of the much longer exposure times involved. 

Combustion products can affect sensitive electronic equipment. For example, hydrogen chloride (HCI) is formed by the combustion of PVC cables. Corrosion due to combusted PVC cable can be a substantial problem. This may result in increased contact resistance of electronic components. Condensed acids may result in the formation of electrolytic cells on surfaces. Certain wire and cable insulation, particularly silicone rubber, can be degraded on exposure to HCI. A methodology for classifying contamination levels and ease of restoration is presented in the SFPE Handbook... 

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