Foranext^® etch gas for electronics

Foranext^® fluorogases play an important role in a variety of manufacturing steps during the fabrication of semiconductor devices.  Foranext^® fluorogases are used to selectively remove material through plasma etching, wafer dicing, and chamber cleaning.  They are also used to change the characteristics of the substrate through passivation and implantation.  Foranext^® products allow for the miniaturization of critical features found in memory circuits, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and more, which give increased functionality to your electronic devices.

Hydrofluorocarbons in the Foranext^® portfolio, such as difluoromethane, disassociate during Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE) into various Fluoride Ion species.  The mixture of these species can be optimized to selectively remove horizontal surfaces of the substrate in various applications to give microscopic patterns with high aspect ratios and fine details.

Inorganic fluorocompounds in the Foranext^® portfolio, such as BF3, can be used to implant elements like Boron into the substrate, changing the conductivity in that location.  The process of creating these patterns of material with different conductivity is the basic principle used to create the microscopic transistors that allow semiconductors to have computational functionally.

These fluorogases can also be used to remove unwanted material from the inside of Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) equipment, a process known as chamber clean.