Reduce trace metal contaminants

How clean are your seals and O-rings?

What is the trace metal content of elastomer materials in the critical locations of your process tool?

Particles and metallic ion contamination are a constant threat to the manufacture of semiconductor devices. The smaller the device, the greater the potential for harm and increased cost as the level of permissible contamination reduces.

When choosing elastomer seals for critical applications, device manufacturers must ensure that they select appropriate materials with ultra-low levels of trace metals, in order to avoid contamination and device degradation.

Trace metal content analysis

Our semiconductor sealing specialists analysed 22 different elastomer materials marketed for semiconductor applications, from various manufactures and suppliers, for their trace metal content.

The analysis took place at a specialist external facility, and used inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for the determination of low and ultra-low level metallic impurities, down to part per billion (ppb) levels.

Metal impurities such as sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), titanium (Ti), and many more were measured and compared.

So, which elastomer materials were cleanest?