Ultra purification system from MTG

Matheson Tri-Gas Electronics has recently introduced its patented PICO-TRAP Ultra-Purification System, for removing volatile metal impurities and moisture from critical process gases used by semiconductor manufacturers.

The PICO-TRAP System was on display at SEMICON West 2008 in San Francisco and follows the recent announcement that the company has entered into a four year agreement with IBM Corp. to jointly develop new manufacturing materials for the next generation of semiconductor technology for 32nm and beyond.

The newly revealed PICO-TRAP System combines the principles of chemisorption and physisorption to achieve levels of process gas purity unmatched by conventional purification technologies.

Semiconductor manufacturers are constantly striving to boost throughput, increase yields and lower defect densities at every process step, most of which involve the use of high purity gases. The PICO-TRAP System is capable of delivering such results by removing moisture down to low detectable limits, such as less than 20 PPB in hydrogen chloride (HCl) – a level that has not been achieved using standard purifiers.

The system, which was one of eight finalists for SEMI’s ‘Best of West’ awards at last week’s SEMICON West trade show, enables microelectronics manufacturers to minimise impurities that interfere with process stability, which is critical to mass producing reliable electronic devices.

Terry Francis, Chief Technologist for Matheson Tri-Gas Electronics enthused, “Our new PICO-TRAP Ultra-Purification System gives chipmakers access to the most effective gas purification processes available to support their migration to the next generation of semiconductor technology.”