Semiconductors are widely used in many home appliances and communications infrastructure, and in recent years they have become indispensable for supporting the latest technologies such as IoT and AI. These semiconductors go through R & D, manufacturing, and inspection processes before being incorporated into various products. Shimadzu Corporation provides Analytical and Measuring Instruments for various processes.​

TOPICS

Overview of Shimadzu’s Online
Ultrapure Water Measuring Technology

Ultrapure Water is Important for the Semiconductor Industry

Large volumes of ultrapure water are used to manufacture semiconductors, particularly for rinsing processes. With increasing miniaturization of semiconductors, even ultra-trace quantities of impurities or organic matter can cause defects or lower yield. Therefore, maintaining the high purity of ultrapure water is essential for quality and reliability. Typically, a conductivity of 18.2 MΩ and a TOC (total organic carbon) level below 1 ppb are required to ensure a reliable supply of high-purity/ultrapure water. This is an essential prerequisite for ensuring the reliability of semiconductor devices.

Required
Online Ultrapure Water Measurements

TOC-1000e
On-Line TOC Analyzer for Pure Water

Because ultra-trace impurities during the manufacture of semiconductors can cause device defects and lead to lower yield, it is essential to monitor the purity of the ultrapure water continuously. Online TOC analyzers can evaluate the organic matter content in ultrapure water in real time to immediately detect any abnormalities. Based on the data acquired, they enable consistent manufacturing operations and support high-quality device manufacturing by allowing processes to be quickly adjusted and managed.

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APPLICATION

01

For Semiconductor
Devices

Due to advancements in the miniaturization and circuit integration of semiconductor devices, quality requirements for materials manufacturing environments have become much stricter. The factors that affect device performance and yield include water purity, gas purity, the cleanroom environment, and mounting quality. As a result, a wide variety of analytical and evaluation technologies are employed in the manufacturing process to evaluate organic matter in ultrapure water, analyze pollutants in the air, monitor hazardous chemical substances, check the purity of processing gases, conduct non-destructive inspection to ensure the reliability of device mounting operations, and so on.

02

For Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment

Due to the increasing miniaturization and higher integration of semiconductor devices, performance requirements for semiconductor manufacturing equipment have increased significantly. In particular, maintaining a clean and consistent processing environment, using more advanced vacuum technologies, and ensuring airtightness are essential factors that can affect yield rates and reliability. Precision control technologies and sophisticated detection technologies have been introduced to achieve stable equipment operation and high throughput, which form the foundation for advances in the semiconductor industry.

SOLUTION

Applications for each manufacturing process are described below. Semiconductor manufacturing involves photolithography, etching, film deposition, rinsing, inspecting, and other process steps.
Photolithography is used to form the detailed circuit patterns and etching is used to remove unwanted material. Film deposition is used to form thin films and rinsing keeps wafers clean. Inspection processes are used to check product quality. Such processes are essential for improving semiconductor manufacturing efficiency and quality.

Wafer

Wafers are an essential material in semiconductor manufacturing. In R&D and production processes, various analyses and evaluations such as band gap measurement and photoresist film thickness measurement are performed.

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