You're an expert in your industry, but not the specifics and niche fields of all the science related to it. Nowhere is this more evident than when it comes to Vapor Phase Decomposition Inductively Coupled Mass Spectroscopy.
What does VPD-ICPMS stand for?
In the industry, Vapor Phase Decomposition Inductively Coupled Mass Spectroscopy is abbreviated to VPD-ICPMS.
How do you prepare to begin the process?
It all starts with the vapor phase decomposition sample preparation technique. During this process, trace elements on the surface of a silicon wafer are collected into a liquid sample to be analyzed by HR-ICP-MS.
What is the size of the silicon wafer?
The silicon wafer can be 150, 200, or 300 mm.
Why are you looking for the condensate?
This condensate etches the oxide layer off of the wafer surface along with any trace metals that are present. The condensate is then collected by rolling a drop of scan solution across the surface of the wafer.
What scan solution do you use?
The scan solution is almost always a dilute mixture of hydrogen peroxide, nitric acid, and hydrofluoric acid.
What is this method capable of measuring?
The liquid sample is analyzed for trace metals using HR-ICP-MS. The VPD technique is capable of measuring metallic contaminants at concentrations ranging from 1E6 to 1E14 atoms/cm2.
What elements are measured?
This is particularly useful in measuring light elements on bare silicon or in hydrofluoric acid soluble thin films, including lithium, beryllium, boron, sodium, magnesium, and aluminum.
What instrument is used?
Cerium uses a gemetec automated VPD prep tool, a production tool for online monitoring of metal contamination on semiconductor wafers with ultra-low detection limits.