In the fabrication of microelectronic devices and integrated circuits, fluorocarbon post-plasma etch residue removal is an important cleaning process. The low-surface energy and cross-linked nature of residues, combined with compatibility concerns between cleaning solutions and device film materials and structures, make such cleaning and residue removal processes particularly challenging. In addition, development of effective cleaning chemistries is complicated by the variability of etch residue compositions and thus their chemical and physical properties. In this work, the efficiency of cleaning solutions was tested through the investigation of the interactions between "model" films and/or patterned fluorocarbon residues and cleaning chemistry. Measurement and analysis of these interactions to identify possible correlations with observed cleaning efficiency were performed using the Owens-Wendt approach. Comparison of the relative amounts of polar and dispersive interactions between solid materials and the cleaning solutions in combination with estimation of separation energy between the residue and substrate as a function of applied cleaning chemistry offered reasonable correlations with residue removal. This information provides insight into the formulation of cleaning mixtures for fluorocarbon-based residue removal.
Integration of new materials into semiconductor manufacturing sequences demands cleaning processes that are compatible with copper and low dielectric constant ͑low-k͒ materials. Conventional oxidative cleaning processes are currently used to remove fluorocarbon-based postplasma etch residues; however, these processes are generally incompatible with organic-containing low-k candidate materials. A photoresist removal and etch residue cleaning process based on reductive naphthalene radical anion chemistry has been developed and evaluated on patterned low-k etch residue samples. Solutions of naphthalene radical anions are generated by electrolysis using platinum electrodes in a split electrochemical cell. The radical anion process cleans effectively at room temperature and thus requires no elevated temperature steps for film removal or surface drying. The removal mechanism is a synergistic combination of solvent swelling and fluorocarbon attack, resulting in effective etch-residue removal; removal from vias as small as 130 nm has been demonstrated. Preliminary investigations indicate chemical compatibility with both Coral and methylsilsesquioxane low-k materials.
Contamination with foreign particulate matter continues to be a leading cause of parenteral drug recalls, despite extensive control and inspection during manufacturing. Glass is a significant source of particulate matter contamination; however, the mechanism, source, and quantification have not been extensively analyzed. Quantification of particulate matter generation with lab simulations suggests that glass-to-glass contact on the filling line produces large quantities of glass particles of various sizes. A new strengthened glass vial with a low coefficient of friction surface is proposed to address this root cause of glass particle generation. Lab simulations and two line trials using this new vial demonstrated a substantial reduction of glass particulate generation, of resulting product contamination, as well as of the frequency of required filling line interventions. These results suggest that substantial reductions in particulate matter contamination of all types, glass and non-glass, can be achieved through the use of a new glass vial designed to effectively eliminate a root cause of glass particle generation. Contamination with foreign particulate contamination continues to be a leading cause of injectable drug recalls, despite extensive control and inspection during manufacturing. Glass particles are one of the most common types of particulate identified; however, the generation mechanism has not been extensively studied. Lab simulations suggest that routine glass-to-glass contact of vials during the filling process results in large quantities of glass particulate. A new, strengthened glass vial with a low coefficient of friction surface is proposed to address this mechanism. Lab simulations and multiple filling line trials demonstrated a substantial reduction of glass particulate matter generation and product contamination with use of the new vial. These results suggest that this new vial reduces contamination risk by eliminating a root cause of glass particulate generation.
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