The test facilities benchmark existing equipment solutions with next generation processes to ascertain potential performance gaps and identify process-enabling solutions. A dedicated, full-time team of researchers with multi-discipline engineering and technical backgrounds performs the full gamut of applications-specific equipment and protocol testing, process chemistry testing, materials studies, and flow and vacuum verification. Our capabilities include:
Liquid R&D Laboratory
Celerity’s liquid R&D group partners with OEMs, IC manufacturers, slurry makers, and others in order to develop solutions for advanced cleaning, CMP, immersion lithography, and other wet process applications needed to address diverse liquid applications challenges. Our charter is to turn technological innovation into business results while keeping a pulse on future needs. For instance, the lab’s full-scale CMP slurry distribution setup conducts a variety of development and characterization work for distribution and blending systems. Past test work has involved shear testing, blending, and slurry handling through a fab scale global loop. Plus we have the online and offline analytical tools and expertise to characterize point-of-use slurry “life,” as well as to monitor slurry properties such as pH, density, specific gravity, viscosity, solids concentrations and constituents, and particle size distributions.
By engaging Celerity to engineer solutions outside their fabrication plants, our customers have access to an industry-leading dedicated resource while keeping their own tools and manufacturing facilities in full production.
Celerity’s liquids R&D and applications laboratory facility covers over 4,000 square feet of floor space. 3,300 square feet (300 square meters) of lab floor for slurry distribution and chemical flow characterization.
- Liquid Flow Controller [LFC] development and characterization – applications support
- Fab scale process development for future generation CMP slurry blending and distribution – evaluate performance at wafer point-of-use conditions
- Pilot-scale and scale-up testing
- Development of chemical blending and dispense methods 400 square feet (38 square meters) of analytical laboratory plus additional clean room area
- Bench top instruments and analysis
- Dedicated clean room area available 330 square feet (30 square meters) of reliability testing space
- Dedicated as well as new test fixtures for liquid applications
- Use of slurry and chemicals – component testing.
Gas R&D Laboratory
Celerity’s gas R&D and applications laboratory pursues gas measurement and control solutions for next-generation processes. The laboratories deliver rapid resolution of processing yield issues by running actual process gases on gas delivery instrumentation to simulate real-world manufacturing conditions. Moreover, we support the entire product development lifecycle, aligning process scientists, chemists, and equipment engineers to provide technology roadmaps, develop accurate product models and recipes, simulate customers’ processes, and report on our general research findings through published technical case studies.
The lab provides constant guidance and assistance to customers worldwide – both responding to immediate gas delivery challenges and undertaking technology development to meet next-generation process requirements. Past examples of the latter include simulating and solving cross-talk effects on MFCs, developing a customer pump/purge process to minimize corrosion in the gas delivery line, and developing mass flow verification techniques to improve process repeatability.
We stay in close contact with process and equipment engineers to understand current process limitations and to identify research areas for the next critical process node. The techniques and well-known methods that Celerity’s lab group has developed have been established as industry standards, and are in practice at major semiconductor manufacturing sites worldwide.
Celerity’s gas R&D and applications laboratory facility covers approximately 5,000 square feet of floor space.
Custom system design for front end product concept, process node development, and technical problem resolution.
- Products Supported:
- Mass flow controllers
- Capacitance manometers
- Pressure transducers
- Vacuum pressure control
- Vapor delivery modules
- Gas flow verifiers
- Oxygen generator
- Gas point detection
- Gas delivery systems
- Application gas lab:
- 8 Corrosive test hoods
- Analytical analysis (gas analysis, contamination control, material properties)
- Gas modeling
- System solutions