Here we are reporting the development of a new generation of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) membrane that boosts process reliability, reproducibility, and productivity in the semiconductor industry and is compatible with its various needs. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, chip sales in 2023 will be approximately US$556 billion as consumer demand for electronic devices continues unabated. Pall corporation ePTFE membrane technology products are designed to help chip manufacturers meet the increasing demands of single-wafer and batch-wet chemical processing. Pall's new ePTFE membrane is designed with improved surface kinetics (via the propriety process) for greater non-dewetting in aqueous and high-viscosity chemicals (Figure 1).. While this membrane improved retention and de-wetting ability, there is no sacrifice to flow or service life compared to the previous generations of PTFE membranes in the market. This membrane brings a new level of contaminant removal capabilities to the wet etch chemical industry, going beyond current manufacturing barriers to remove the next level of contaminants (down to sub-2 nm in size and ppt level of concentration).
Pall's new PTFE membrane and unique surface chemistry enable it to operate at both high temperatures and harsh chemical filtration, like in Piranha filtration. The membrane also features improved cleanliness and significantly lowering the start-up time of the chemical process. The new PTFE membrane establishes new performance benchmarks in the marketplace. The membrane retention performance confirms being the tightest structure of the PTFE membrane in the market. It can significantly reduce defects during product manufacture while maintaining low differential pressures during dispensing or chemical processing.
Pall's ePTFE membrane filters have been adopted in many critical wet etch chemical applications and allow customers to adopt even finer levels of filtration without any sacrifice in pressure drop. Over the past several years, Pall technologies have repeatedly pushed the limits of what is possible in the ePTFE membrane. Our new ePTFE membrane is part of our ongoing progress in reducing defect densities and size in wet etch chemical processes. It confirms our hypothesis that the physical limitations of wet etch chemical filtration have not yet been reached.
