ABSTRACT
The efforts directed toward particle minimization in the semiconductor fabrication environment are generally complemented with rigorous particle monitoring in all areas of concern. This chapter focuses on the techniques specifically applicable to the semiconductor fabrication environment. It briefly reviews the techniques, and provides examples of their use to solve specific microcontamination problems. Two general types of analyses applied to particles are: single particle analysis, and bulk analysis. In single particle analysis, the compositional and physical characteristics of each individual particle are determined. Bulk analysis averages out the compositions of all particles obtained in a sample and is generally incapable of determining physical characteristics of particles. A sample of the particles filtered from the acid was analyzed by micro-Fourier Transform Infrared (Micro FT-IR) spectroscopy. Various parts of the acid delivery system were analyzed to determine which material had a similar IR spectrum.
