If you are into business that has something to do with semiconductor it makes sense that you get yourself familiar with wafer cleaning and reclaim – both are wet processes useful in wafer production and both are cost-effective procedures that benefit lots of companies. In this article, we will discuss more about these two processes – one by one.

1. Wafer Cleaning and Reclaim - important
industry processes
If you are into business that has something to do with semiconductor it makes sense
that you get yourself familiar with wafer cleaning and reclaim – both are wet processes
useful in wafer production and both are cost-effective procedures that benefit lots of
companies. In this article, we will discuss more about these two processes – one by one.
Wafer cleaning in a nutshell
Wafer cleaning has long been acknowledged as an important industry process. It
involves the removal of particulate and chemical impurities from the semiconductor
surface without damaging the substrate. This process is designed specifically for silicon-
based material as this is the most common and important element used for the
fabrication of integrated circuits. Wafer cleaning procedure usually is based on wet-
chemical processes, using hydrogen peroxide solutions.
Some advantages and benefits of wafer cleaning:
Provides no etch or damage to silicon
Environment friendly since it uses contamination-free and volatilizable
chemicals.
Offers effective removal of all types of surface contaminants, organic and metallic
matters
Relatively safe, process is simple, and economical for production application
Implementable by a variety of techniques
Enhances the performance of the semiconductor products
What is wafer reclaim?
Wafer reclaim includes the process of transforming a used wafer to its brand new look at
a lower cost. This is considered as a cost-effective alternative to buying new wafers. This
process involves a number of steps, which include: (1) sort – the procedure that is
critical to prevent metallic contamination (2) strip – this is performed through wet
immersion using batch tanks such as Orca; (3)Lapping and grinding – required for thick
SOI (4) polish – using chemical and mechanical polishing, which can leave residual
slurry and unwanted particles, and metallic contaminants; (5) cleaning – which is
performed in batch immersion tanks and (6) Inspection – the step that sorts again the
thickness and defect level before being returned for use in the fab.
Specific benefits of wafer reclaim
Significantly cuts production costs of manufacturing brand new wafers.
Offers environmental benefits; waste materials from the production of new
wafers are essentially reduced by this alternative.
It helps extend the life of wafers – longer span of time for use
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Authored by: Solisa Maestri
Solisa is an Internet enthusiast who wants to share useful information about foundry services,
including topics wafer cleaning and wafer reclaim. Find out more here:
http://www.noeltech.com