Kalrez® News 2 - Article 6

DuPont Performance Elastomers Spearheads Semicon Successes With Kalrez® Seals

Semicon West July 11-13 – South Hall, Booth 2426

At Semicon West 2006, DuPont Performance Elastomers will focus on its range of Kalrez® perfluoroelastomer parts for reduced particle adders and improved equipment reliability in Etch and CVD processes. Kalrez® Sahara™ 8085, Kalrez® 8002 and Kalrez® Bonded Door Seals are proven to improve seal performance in the most aggressive process environments.

Kalrez® Sahara™ 8085, Kalrez® 8002 and Kalrez® Bonded Door Seals complement the company's "dry to wet" range of perfluoroelastomer sealing parts that includes Kalrez® 7075UP, Kalrez® Sahara™ 8475 and Kalrez® 6375UP, and offers a sealing product for every key semicon fab process. Each is designed to withstand semiconductor process media, including reactive plasmas, while helping fabricators reduce particle generation and cut costly downtime in silicon wafer processing.

Kalrez® Bonded Door Seals offer significantly increased yield and particle reduction benefits in CVD, etch and ashing processes for key 200mm and 300mm wafer production equipment platforms, claims DuPont Performance Elastomers. The MONOVAT® door seal with KLR 9100, seen here, enabled a leading chip manufacturer to almost double wafer yield.

Kalrez® Seals in Etch, Ash and CVD

"Since its introduction in 2002, Kalrez® Sahara™ 8085 has become a proven success by helping Fab lines to significantly reduce particle adders and improve equipment reliability in HDPCVD, SACVD, PECVD, tungsten CVD and etching processes," claims Steve Metaxas, global marketing manager – Kalrez® Electronics Industry.

"Kalrez® Sahara™ 8085 was also developed to resist NF3 plasma, a cleaning gas that can damage elastomeric seals. Some customers who use this particularly aggressive plasma for cleaning have reported as much as a 200 percent improvement in wafer yield since switching to Kalrez® Sahara™ 8085."

In processes where ultra-low particle generation is critical, Kalrez® 8002 is an alternative to mineral-filled products. It exhibits significantly lower particle generation in oxygen and fluorine-based plasmas. In addition, KLR 9100, the latest perfluoroelastomer product from DuPont Performance Elastomers, has demonstrated excellent performance in a STI HDPCVD process on Novellus Concept Two Speed® Equipment at a major Southwest USA Fab line.

Bonded Door Seals

DuPont Performance Elastomers claims that Kalrez® Bonded Door Seals outperform conventional O-rings in slit and gate valve door seal applications, and also reduce rolling and twisting during door actuation due to being held in a 'fixed' position. These innovations can lead to extended seal life and reduced replacement time during preventive maintenance, the company states.

"Kalrez® Bonded Door Seals have already been adopted by several leading Fab lines to seal CVD, etch and ashing processes for the key 200mm and 300mm wafer production equipment platforms, and they report significant benefits," says Metaxas.

He cites a major Southwest USA Fab line that achieved 51 percent particle reduction by switching to Kalrez® Sahara™ 8085 Bonded Door Seals in a tungsten CVD process.

Metaxas also reports that a leading European chip manufacturer almost doubled wafer yield from about 30 000 to 55 000 pairs in a Producer® low-k Black Diamond® PECVD process by switching to MONOVAT® bonded door seals with KLR 9100.

Kalrez® Sahara™ 8085, 8002 and KLR-9100 Bonded Door Seals are designed for HDPCVD, PECVD, SACVD, low-K CVD and metal CVD as well as etch and ash wafer processing applications.

Integrated perfluoroelastomer parts manufacture

Kalrez® perfluoroelastomer parts are produced only by DuPont Performance Elastomers and are specially cleaned and double packaged in Class 100 Workstations to significantly reduce the potential for contamination. Each item is individually packaged in a bar coded bag for full traceability and is available as O-rings, sheets, and custom parts. [They are sold through DuPont Performance Elastomers' certified distributor Problem Solving Products, Inc.]

About DuPont Performance Elastomers

DuPont Performance Elastomers, a global supplier of specialty elastomers with headquarters in Wilmington, DEL, is a wholly owned subsidiary of DuPont. The company is an industry leader in chloroelastomers and fluorinated elastomers, serving the automotive, chemical, petrochemical, semiconductor, food and pharmaceutical processing, construction, general rubber and wire and cable industries.

Kalrez® is a registered trademark of DuPont.

Kalrez® Sahara™ is a registered trademark of DuPont.

Next Article: Article 5: Extended Role In Critical Chemical Process Sealing For Kalrez® And Viton®