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Entegris VOLUME 18, ISSUE 3

Materials (SCEM) and Microcontam- ination Control (MC). Entegris’ AMH division produces a variety of flexible packaging and polymer containers that chemical companies use to ship process chemistries to semiconductor fabrication plants. Its portfolio includes packaging products that include low-volume containers to transport high-value photo- resist chemistries and large interme- diate bulk containers for high-volume chemical consumption. Entegris solutions address automation, contamination and productivity concerns in anything from 100mm to 300mm FABs (fabrication laboratories). “Entegris provides the tools that

entegris offers safe keep wafers clean and pristine for all storage of wafers from the manufacturer to the the different processes,” says Sharon finished devices. Harnisch, senior manager of solutions marketing, Advanced Material Handling and global marketing. “We

xclusive feature xclusive have secret formulas in some of our Innovation Lead products that make them cleaner and we use special materials.” entegris offers high-tech handling solutions for manufacturing processes. by kat zeman Transporting Wafers One solution for transporting wa- When it comes to handling solu- semiconductor material) and other fers is the front opening unified pod tions for manufacturing process- substrates. It develops systems that (FOUP). This specialized enclosure is es in the semiconductor and other protect wafers from abrasion, deg- designed to hold silicon wafers safely high-technology industries, Entegris radation and contamination during and securely in a controlled environ- offers cutting-edge results. manufacturing and transportation. ment while they are being transport- The Billerica, Mass.-based compa- “No particles. No contamination,” ed and transferred into hundreds of ny enables manufacturers to make stresses Chris Newman, Entegris’ sophisticated process steps. Within smaller and faster microchips. The in- global 300 mm business manager. the integrated circuit semiconductor dustries it serves include automotive, “That is the purpose of all of our industry, device integration complex- medical, aerospace, internet of things products: to provide the storage and ity is increasing and device structures and electronics. transportation from the wafer man- are becoming more complex. Entegris’ Advanced Materials Han- ufacturer all the way through to the As a result, contamination level re- dling (AMH) division develops solu- finished device.” quirements on substrate surfaces be- tions to monitor, protect, transport Entegris’ two other divisions are come more demanding. Companies and deliver wafers (thin slices of Specialty Chemicals and Engineered can lose large sums of money due to

Entegris / www.entegris.com / HQ: Billerica, Mass. / Employees: 3,500+ / Sharon Harnisch, senior manager of solutions marketing, ad - vanced material handling and global marketing: “Entegris provides the tools that keep wafers clean and pristine for all the different processes.”

manufacturing-today.com VOLUME 18, ISSUE 3 xclusive feature Entegris

product contamination. Molecules number of back-end solutions. They such as water, oxygen and other air- include Entegris’ newest contactless borne molecular contaminants have horizontal wafer solution, released in become detrimental in specific pro- 2016. An advanced solution for stor- cess conditions. age and transport of highly sensitive “Ten years ago, the FOUP was be- wafers, it provides protection against ing used to manage primarily parti- ionic, outgassing and mechanical el- cle control,” says Gary Gallagher, se- ements and maintains wafer nior director of technology. “Today, integrity during transport, it not only manages particle control storage or shipping. but we’ve gone to essentially process The 300mm Smart- chamber control including static Stack Horizontal Wafer protection, white light shielding and Shipper protects fin- minimizing molecular contaminates. ished wafers in full, thin We’ve also introduced nitrogen into or ultrathin thicknesses the FOUP to control humidity and ox- and can accommodate up to the contactless wafer ygen. The devices manufacturers use 25 wafers. It is ergonomic and shipper allows entegris customers to ship standard, are extremely sensitive to moisture made from low ionic/outgassing lens or bumped wafers. and oxygen.” STAT-PRO 100M material. Requirements for transporting “The contactless horizontal wa- Continued Investments silicon wafers have become more de- fer shipper allows our customers to Entegris places heavy emphasis on manding, meaning fewer particles ship standard, lens or bumped wafers research and development. The com- allowed per wafer. At the same time, without using Tyvek separators and pany’s continuous goal is to help its devices have shrunk in recent years, PE (polyethylene) foam cushions,” clients improve their productivity, resulting in them becoming more sen- says Doug Moser, manager for fin- performance and technology by pro- sitive to particle contamination. “A ished wafer products. “There are oth- viding yield-enhancing materials and nanometer size particle can kill a de- er contactless solutions on the mar- solutions for the most advanced man- vice,” Gallagher says. “Today it is fea- ket, but our ring design encapsulates ufacturing environments. sible to pack 30 billion transistors on the wafer. Our competitors’ rings are “A one percent improvement in a single chip in semiconductor manu- placed on top of the wafer which es- yield represents hundreds of millions facturing. An analogy is a single parti- sentially transfers damage to the wa- of dollars in potential savings,” Gal- cle the size of a dime in New York City fer in a shock event.” lagher says. “Every percentage point that can impact device yield. “Particle The perimeter support ring mini- in yield improvement is dramatic for control is crucial.” mizes the potential for surface area our customers.” damage and interleaf ESD contam- The company continues to make A Contactless Solution ination to finished wafers. It also investments into innovative technol- Once the product is ready to be shipped eliminates the likelihood of scuffed ogies, especially in 300mm wafer ad- to the consumer, Entegris offers a or marred wafers or bump damage. vancements. It partners with industry leaders in the semiconductor and other Global Experts high-tech industries to take advantage For more than 50 years, Entegris has been dedicated to developing products and systems that purify, of the latest advances in microcontam- protect and transport critical materials used in the semiconductor device fabrication process. The ination control, critical materials han- company prides itself on having a broad product offering, advanced manufacturing capabilities, worldwide infrastructure and unmatched technical expertise. dling and advanced process materials. Its employees and partners are encouraged to disseminate knowledge, take risks, share ideas and “We have R&D agreements with turn them into business opportunities. end-users and we work with a lot of The company has a global infrastructure of manufacturing, service centers and research facilities universities and leading technology in the United States, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Japan, Israel, Germany and France. companies to improve technologies for the industry,” Newman says. mt