Microcontamination control

In this section we focus on four specific environmental problems coal combustion aerosol formation, dynamics of atmospheric aerosols, the chemical characterization of particles, and the role of aerosols in clean room technology or so-called microcontamination control. For the reader interested in an introduction to aerosol science, we recommend three texts [6-8]. 

The main aims in environmental analysis are sensitivity (due to the low concentration of microcontaminants to be determined), selectivity (due to the complexity of the sample) and automation of analysis (to increase the throughput in control analysis). These three aims are achieved by multidimensional chromatography sensitivity is enhanced by large-volume injection techniques combined with peak compression, selectivity is obviously enhanced if one uses two separations with different selectivi-ties instead of one, while on-line techniques reduce the number of manual operations in the analytical procedure. 

This chapter gives explicit examples of how the techniques of wet (solution) chemistry can be applied to the production of integrated circuits. The quality control for processed thin films, chemicals, and pure water, along with microcontamination analysis, to resolve production problems are discussed. These examples indicate that wet chemical techniques are the only ones available for absolute standardization and measurement of trace metals and their effect on the devices produced by current very-large-scale-integration (VLSI) technology. 

B.H.J. Tseng, M.D. You, S.C. Hsin, Characterization and control of microcontamination for advanced technology nodes and 300-mm wafer processing overview and challenges, IEEE Trans. Device Mater. Reliab. 5 (4) (2005) 623—630. 

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