This tighter clustering of data is accompanied by a shift of the mean breakdown voltage to a higher level, suggesting a cleaner, more consistent process than the SPM, APM, HPM process. The economic advantage of ozone and water processes is significant. Elimination of costly chemicals and disposal is just one area of cost reduction. However, the HydrOzone process also demonstrates considerable savings in water use. Figure 7 shows a comparison of conventional immersion technology to a HydrOzone process delivered in a spray system.
Water consumption is seen to decrease by an order of magnitude.
The cost and environmental implications are readily apparent. Clearly, ozone and water processes, and most notably the HydrOzone process, offer significant advantages to the semiconductor industry. Process performance and cost considerations are compelling and make a strong argument for transition away from sulfuric acid-based processes. To further the development of the process, Semitool and IMEC have joined forces in a development program to increase the effectiveness of the HydrOzone process as well as to accelerate the integration of the process into the manufacturing environment. IMEC is the premier European semiconductor research institute, located in Leuven, Belgium.