The challenge of microelectronics for analytical chemistry

Optimization of ETV-ICP-MS conditions for the determination of multi-elements in semiconductor grade acids

“…Estimation of metals on the wafer surface is very important to investigate the cleanliness of processes and purity of chemicals and gases. Currently, metal impurities on silicon wafers are predominantly measured by surface analytical techniques such as total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (TXRF) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) [7,8]. These techniques have relatively good sensitivity with detection limits in the range 10 9 to 10 12 atoms/cm 2 , but TXRF has poor sensitivity for some important lighter elements like Al, Na etc.…”

Trace analysis for microelectronically relevant heavy metals in high-purity titanium with isotope dilution mass spectrometry

“…Thin layers of Ti, TiN, and Ti02 are formed by different sputter techniques where high-purity titanium targets are used.3•7• [19][20][21][22] For the exact analytical characterization of the microelectronic devices and their primary materials, different analytical methods for bulk, micro, and surface analysis must be applied. [23][24][25][26][27] Especially the natural «-emitters uranium and thorium and their decay products can cause soft errors in chip units, but also heavy-metal traces such as iron, nickel, and copper can cause malfunctions by diffusion or electromigration.24 '26 Glow discharge mass spectrometry (GDMS) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) have been applied for analyses in this field. Their advantage in application as a multi-element method is diminished by the disadvantage that matrix-dependent relative sensitivity factors must be determined for quantification.24 '28•29 Another problem in bulk analysis by GDMS and SIMS is due to the small amount of sample analyzed, which must not necessarily be representative in case of inhomogeneous samples.…”