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Point-of-use abatement for copper CMP
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Metron Technology claims the semiconductor industry's first
and "only" point-of-use (POU) solution for abating copper from a
chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) system's effluent stream.
Jointly developed by Applied Materials and BOC Edwards, the Aquareus
system is exclusively sold and serviced worldwide by Metron Technology.
The Aquareus system has a simplified treatment process to enable
chipmakers to meet stringent liquid discharge limits at a lower cost
and with less risk than complex back-pad methods. The tool provides
more than 99% removal efficiency and over 3000 hours mean time between
failure (MTBF) reliability. Metron calculates that the Aquareus can
save users up to $0.15 per wafer, or up to 30% in treatment cost over
centralized back-pad systems.
The Aquareus system uses a highly selective, proprietary, fluidized bed
ion exchange resin technology that handles high flows from a broad
range of CMP chemical slurries, with minimal service or maintenance.
Intense tests of the Aquareus CMP waste treatment have been made over
two years at Applied Materials' Maydan Technology Center in Sunnyvale,
California. Metron says that this real-world experience has proven
Aquareus' ability to cost-effectively reduce emissions from multiple
copper CMP systems to levels far below the toughest governmental
standards.
A typical CMP tool running in production generates effluent containing
approximately one hundred kilograms of copper per year. Aquareus
concentrates the copper by a factor of 200:1. The Aquareus system's
point-of-use design allows process flexibility and incremental growth
capability.
"The Aquareus system showcases the kind of environmental innovation
that results from combining Applied Materials' strong CMP process
technology with Metron's abatement expertise to provide an industry
solution that reliably manages copper disposal at much lower cost than
current abatement options," says Werner Finsterbusch, general manager
of Metron Technology.
By Dr Mike Cooke