Removing metallic contaminants from the photochemical supply chain is critical for the creation of high yielding, highly reliable semiconductors. Metallic contaminants may lead to various types of defects, such as cone defects, that can result in significant yield loss and degraded long-term reliability. This makes control of metallic contaminants even more critical in advanced photolithography processes, where the device reliability demands metal contaminants at parts per trillion (ppt) levels. Previous work3 demonstrated the ability of two purifiers, PurasolTM SP and SN, to reduce the metal contaminants in a variety of organic solvents. In this paper we will discuss our continued work to reduce contamination sources that can contribute to defect formation in photolithography applications.
|