Non-Traditional Elements in Semiconductor Solvents by 8900 Triple Quad ICP-MS

The Analysis of a Solvents in the Semiconductor Industry is a common application due to the uses in photolithography, and in wets purposes in the wafer fabrication environment.

Traditionally elements like the Group 1, Group 2 and Transition Row elements were analyzed as they were charge carriers that damaged these semiconductor devices in their respective processes. However, as device sizes get smaller and smaller, and the desire for yields is higher the analysis for elements that were traditionally not analyzed in their matrices like Silicon, Sulfur and Phosphorus has increased. Silicon, Sulfur and Phosphorus are notoriously difficult to analyze due to their low ionization potentials and their low ionization in an argon plasma. Also, silicon sulfur and phosphorus all suffer from significant poly-atomic interferences which make trace level analysis of these elements in a carbon matrix nearly impossible.

The use of the Agilent 8900 Triple Quad ICPMS with MSMS technology was used to not only remove these poly-atomic interferences to trace levels in these matrices.

Presenter: Bert Woods (Application Scientist, Agilent Technologies, Inc.)

Joined the Agilent ICP-MS team in 2004, with previous employment in the semiconductor industry with Dominion Semiconductor (IBM/Toshiba) and Micron. Bert is a 1997 Chemistry graduate of Radford University in Virginia and an avid Washington DC Sports fan.