Precision Polymer Engineering (PPE), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high performance molded elastomer seals and O-rings, will launch two new material grades at SEMICON West 2017 this week.
The new materials, Perlast® G65HP and Perlast® G67G, are perfluoroelastomers (FFKM) that have been formulated to deliver low plasma erosion rates and increased seal lifetime with minimal particle generation. Following comprehensive testing using different plasma chemistries and plasma sources, the results show the new materials perform better than their closest competitors, with a 30% reduction in erosion rates in some cases.
Both materials boast low trace metal content, which reduces the risk of lower yield and warranty failures. Additionally, the Perlast® G67G grade incorporates low levels of advanced nano-particle fillers, meaning that particle agglomeration or large particle contamination are far less likely
PPE developed the new high purity materials to meet the needs of critical applications where seals are in direct contact with the process chemistry. They are expected to provide extended lifetime that is compatible with existing maintenance cycles, potentially increasing the process tool uptime, leading to an overall lower cost of consumables.
Perlast® G65HP has a unique organic formulation developed specifically for critical semiconductor processes where the seals are in direct contact with plasma. This new material grade provides excellent plasma resistance in high concentration radical fluorine plasma, as well as other plasma chemistries. With a 100% organic structure, Perlast® G65HP minimizes the risk of particle generation, resulting in extended maintenance cycles. In addition, with fewer than 10k parts per billion trace metals, this material is ideal for manufacturers of devices at advanced technology nodes, and those manufacturers wishing to ensure the integrity of device electrical specifications and minimal reliability failures.
Perlast® G67G has been formulated to deliver excellent resistance to aggressive oxygen, chlorine and fluorine-based plasmas. Together with outstanding thermal and mechanical resistance qualities and low particle generation, Perlast® G67G is ideally suited to wet and dry etching, stripping, cleaning and PVD processes.
Semiconductor production creates some of the most aggressive environments encountered by seals and original equipment manufacturers are continually making conscious efforts to source more advanced sealing materials. In G65HP and G67G, PPE has developed two plasma resistant, nano-filled elastomer sealing materials, each providing a unique and process-optimized sealing solution for semiconductor applications. The materials have been extensively tested and benchmarked against market-leading materials, in several commonly used plasma chemistries. The results demonstrate the new materials provide superior performance.
Commenting on the launch of the new materials, Dr Murat Gulcur, Product Manager for Semiconductor at PPE, said: “PPE is committed to the development of ever more resilient semiconductor material grades, to help our customers solve sealing problems mainly associated with the miniaturization of the chip market across a range of critical applications. Aggressive plasma chemistries have always been a major challenge for our customers, and with the extensive testing and subsequent launch of Perlast® G65HP and Perlast® G67G, we believe we can give our customers market-leading performance against all other elastomer sealing technologies under the same conditions – along with significant cost savings.”
PPE will be exhibiting at SEMICON West 2017, San Francisco from July 11-13. Come and visit the team at Booth #6668 to see our complete range of sealing materials and discuss how partnering with PPE can provide a competitive advantage.
For further information about PPE’s semicon capabilities talk to a member of the sales team on +44 (0)1254 295400, visit their website at www.prepol.com or email [email protected]
~ENDS~