RASIRC Presents Poster on Thermal Oxidation of Silicon at SPIE
Steamer replaces pyrolytic torches to improve growth rate and eliminate hydrogen
San Diego, Calif. – January 20, 2010– RASIRC®, the steam purification company, announces that it will present a poster titled Alternative Method for Steam Generation for Thermal Oxidation of Silicon at SPIE Photonics West on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 in San Francisco, CA. The poster presents an account of how steamer technology, as opposed to a pyrolytic torch, can eliminate hydrogen in thermal oxidation and increase growth rate, uniformity, and reliability in MEMS manufacturing. RASIRC will be exhibiting at SPIE, North Hall, Table #4100.
The poster reports on data collected over a 24 month period by Honeywell, a MEMS manufacturer. Results support replacement of pyrolytic torches with RASIRC Steamer technology to reduce process cycle time. Growth rate of oxide layers improved 7% over the growth range from 1 to 3.5 microns. The elimination of hydrogen generated a four-month return on investment.
"Thermal oxidation of silicon is an important process step in MEMS device fabrication. Thicker oxide layers are often used as structural components and can take days or weeks to grow, resulting in high gas costs, maintenance issues, and a process bottleneck,” explained RASIRC founder and president Jeffrey Spiegelman.
The RASIRC Steamer generates purified steam from de-ionized (DI) water for critical processes by removing volatiles, ionic contaminants, and other impurities from steam. Yield is increased because metals, hydrocarbons, and particles are rejected by the non-porous membrane to deliver the purest steam possible. Throughput is increased with continuous unattended 24/7 operation. Compared to pyrolytic torches, there is no thermal build-up with increased flow rate, it's safer as hydrogen and oxygen are eliminated from the oxidation process, it operates at significantly lower temperature, and handles a wide range of pressures and flow rates.
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