Phosphorus Fluoride Purification for Moisture-Free Semiconductor Etching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional phosphorus halide compounds, particularly phosphorus fluoride compounds, suffer from impurities that reduce their effectiveness in semiconductor manufacturing processes due to impurity formation during synthesis, storage, and delivery, leading to low etch rates and vessel contamination.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for synthesizing phosphorus halide compounds with high purity by removing moisture from reagent materials, using a sorbent to remove impurities, and applying a coating to vessel walls to prevent moisture absorption, along with a method for delivering high-purity phosphorus fluoride compounds to semiconductor tools.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional synthesis and storage methods are used for phosphorus fluoride compounds, then the production process is simple, but impurities form during synthesis, storage, and delivery reducing effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-drying reagent materials before synthesis to remove moisture that would otherwise form impurities during the reaction. This proactive removal of water prevents impurity formation rather than requiring complex post-synthesis purification steps, thereby achieving high purity (99.9%+) while maintaining relatively simple production processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a sorbent material as an intermediary substance to trap and remove impurities from the phosphorus fluoride compound during storage and delivery. This sorbent acts as a mediator between the phosphorus fluoride compound and potential contaminants, allowing the compound to maintain high purity without requiring complex sealed systems or multiple purification stages.
2Manufacturing precision
If high purity phosphorus fluoride compounds are achieved through multiple purification steps, then purity increases, but processing time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
By performing drying of reagent materials as a preliminary step before synthesis, the patent prevents impurity formation at the source rather than requiring multiple subsequent purification steps. This approach achieves high manufacturing precision (99.9%+ purity) while minimizing processing time, as the single preliminary drying step is more efficient than multiple post-synthesis purification operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes water from reagent materials through drying before synthesis occurs. By taking out the harmful moisture component beforehand, the system achieves high purity phosphorus fluoride compounds without requiring complex multi-stage extraction or purification processes during or after synthesis, thereby reducing overall processing time.
3Productivity
If moisture is present during synthesis and storage, then the process is simpler, but impurity formation increases leading to low etch rates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary drying of reagent materials to prevent moisture-induced impurity formation before synthesis occurs. This proactive approach ensures high purity phosphorus fluoride compounds that deliver high etch rates in semiconductor manufacturing, avoiding the need for complex moisture exclusion systems during storage and handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The sorbent material serves as an intermediary that actively traps and removes moisture and impurities from the phosphorus fluoride compound during storage and delivery. This intermediary action prevents impurity formation that would otherwise reduce etch performance, maintaining high productivity without requiring hermetically sealed systems or complex moisture control infrastructure.
4Reliability
If conventional storage vessels are used without special coatings, then the vessel design is simpler, but vessel contamination occurs from impurity deposition
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a sorbent material as an intermediary substance within the storage vessel that actively captures and holds impurities. This sorbent acts as a buffer between the phosphorus fluoride compound and the vessel walls, preventing contamination and purity degradation during storage without requiring complex coated or sealed vessel designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The sorbent material functions as a consumable component that can be easily replaced in the storage vessel. Rather than requiring expensive, complex, or difficult-to-maintain coated vessels, the system uses inexpensive sorbent material that performs the purification function and can be periodically replaced, simplifying vessel design while maintaining reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Achieves phosphorus fluoride compounds with purities of at least 99.9% and minimizes impurity formation, ensuring effective etching performance in semiconductor manufacturing.
Implementation Method 1
flowing the phosphorus fluoride component over a sorbent to remove at least a portion of the impurity
Implementation Method 2
heating the solid component to a first temperature sufficient to remove at least a portion of the water
Implementation Method 3
heating the solid component to a second temperature sufficient to form a reaction product comprising a phosphorus fluoride compound
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure provides a vessel and methods for handling high-purity phosphorus fluoride compounds. The vessel can include a phosphorus fluoride component including a phosphorus fluoride compound with a purity of at least 99.9%, as measured by gas chromatography and/or infrared spectroscopy. Also disclosed is a method which includes obtaining a solid component containing a metal fluorophosphate compound and water, heating the solid component to remove water, and further heating to form a phosphorus fluoride compound with a purity of at least 99.9%, as measured by gas chromatography and/or infrared spectroscopy.