There are a number of process and production requirements that need to be considered before buying a wet bench station. In addition to knowing which process chemicals are needed, you also need to decide on the degree of automation and whether any customization is needed for your station. If your application requires the use of aggressive chemicals, you also need to consider chemical delivery, handling, and disposal systems. Once silicon wafers have been cleaned or etched on the wet bench station, you have to know how the rinsing and drying process will be performed while keeping contamination to a minimum. The kind of semiconductor manufacturing you’ll be carrying out determines the type of wet bench station, and how you plan to run your facility impacts many of the other decisions you’ll have to make.
The Process Determines the Type of Station
Depending on the details of the semiconductor manufacturing process you’ll be using, you may be etching or cleaning wafers with acids and bases or you may be using solvents. Chemicals such as hydrochloric acid or hydrogen peroxide are extremely corrosive and require stations made of polypropylene and tanks made of inert materials such as quartz. Stations that use solvents such as acetone or IPA are made from stainless steel and the chemicals are not as aggressive.
Chemical Handling Systems Increase Safety
When you install chemical handling systems with your wet benches, you avoid spills and eliminate human error in dosages and mixing. Chemical handling includes delivery to the process, neutralization of the chemicals after use, and safe disposal of the waste. Chemical handling systems come in many sizes and can handle a variety of tasks. An experienced manufacturer of wet process equipment can advise you regarding the best systems for your application.
Automation Can Help Improve Performance
Wet process automation can range from stations that perform a few tasks independently to fully automated stations that run the whole process by themselves. For large production runs, full automation can save time and ensure consistency. For batch processing or the development of prototypes, semi-automated stations run standardized tasks while operators take over manual control where needed. You have to decide how you are going to run your facility and whether a high degree of automation is appropriate.
Specialized Sub-Systems Can Meet Your Unique Process Needs
The complexity of semiconductor manufacturing means that each facility has unique features and special requirements. Often specialized subsystems can improve facility performance. For example, a quick dump rinser speeds up rinsing while a unit that combines rinsing and IPA vapor drying can reduce particle contamination. If particle count reduction is critical for your process, Megasonic cleaning using high-frequency sound waves can reduce particle counts to a minimum. Look at specialized sub-systems to see if you can use any of them for your process.
Customization Can Help You Get Exactly What You Need
When standard wet benches don’t quite do what you want, it’s time to work with a wet bench manufacturer that designs and builds their own equipment. When design and assembly are carried out in-house, the manufacturer has the capability to adapt standard equipment to exactly meet your requirements. It could be something simple such as a custom tank size and shape or more complex features such as special automation programming for extra process steps. Experienced manufacturers can customize your equipment and can advise you on what equipment is best suited for your application before building it to your requirements.
Modutek Has the In House Expertise and Experience
Modutek has been designing and building wet bench stations and equipment for over 40 years and can advise customers to make sure they get the equipment they need. As one of the leading semiconductor equipment manufacturers, Modutek’s in-house expertise allows them to develop the specialized sub-systems needed by customers. When considering the purchase of a wet bench station, Modutek can help you choose the equipment and make sure it operates the way you want.
