Semiconductor manufacturing

Trusted measurements for pressure, temperature, humidity, and liquid concentration measurements for increased yield, safety, and best-performing products

1982

own cleanroom since

DRYCAP®

Cutting-edge technology for semiconductor manufacturing

Leading

semiconductor fabs are our customers

Top-notch silicon chips are made using sophisticated machines, processes, and knowledge. And behind successful processes are high-performing monitoring and measurement instrumentation.

Each silicon chip deserves to work as intended, and when created, using just the right amount of material, energy, and other resources.

Guarantee success with quality measurements

INFOGRAPHIC Semiconductor — Click to enlarge

From wet to dry and back

From semiconductor wafer manufacturing, and microelectronics fabrication to packaging semiconductors, equip your critical processing steps with trusted and reliable measurements for stable quality, high yield, predictability, and cost-efficiency.

Our offering covers instruments measuring humidity, dew point, temperature, pressure, and wet chemistries’ concentrations. Each product produces precise data on the manufacturing environment, and provides superior accuracy, long-term stability, and rapid response time for process optimization, increased yield, safety and best-performing chips.

For these reasons, Vaisala is the preferred measurement partner for semiconductor manufacturers and MEMS foundries, semiconductor equipment manufacturers and OEMs, fab operators, and material suppliers.

From the front-end to back-end and all the way to the customer, we've got you.

WHY VAISALA

Designed for semiconductor manufacturing

Vaisala's comprehensive offering with just the right parameters provides stable measurements in semiconductor manufacturing.

Measurement accuracy designed in the product

Select products surrounded by an ecosystem of support, with optimized cost of ownership and with minimum lifecycle costs.

Avoid risks - select reliable products from wet to dry

Vaisala's products cover the whole measurement range, and everything you need from wet to dry, including products for specific applications.

Tailored products - Engineer-to-Order

Did you know that our products can be customized for an specific application or installation position?

Nothing gives us more joy than to solve difficult measurement problems, together with you. Contact us! We are here to help.

We walk the walk

Vaisala produces sensor chips for Vaisala products, and for R&D use in our own in-house cleanroom. We know what it takes to produce world-class quality.

In addition, Vaisala is committed to supporting our products throughout their entire lifecycle, and our expert services and support are located near you, wherever you are.

Semiconductor manufacturing applications

Environmental measurements in cleanroom, HVAC

Humidity control through air conditioning system, HVAC

Humidity levels can also impact the semiconductor manufacturing process. Excessive humidity can lead to condensation on sensitive equipment, potentially causing defects in the semiconductor devices. Precision air conditioning systems help to control humidity levels and act as a preventative tool.

Get to know the INDIGO300

Wafer cleaning with the help of durable products

Wafer cleaning is a critical process in semiconductor manufacturing for removing contaminants, particles, and residues from the surface of silicon wafers. This process ensures the reliability and functionality of integrated circuits (ICs) and other semiconductor devices.

Extra durability

Cleaning agents can include acids, various solvents, and water, and these residues might be present, thus requiring extra durability from measurement probes.

Vaisala offers corrosive resistant probes also without metal wetted parts, specially tailored for the wafer cleaning process, tolerating both high humidity and harsh chemicals.

It is important to ensure chip dryness after cleaning to prevent contamination and particle adhesion.

Wafer stepper in photolithography

Wafer stepper in photolithography is another critical processing step in the production of integrated circuits (ICs) and other semiconductor devices. In this step, a light pattern is projected onto a silicon wafer coated with photosensitive material (photoresist), thereby etching the desired pattern onto the wafer. As a result, some photolithography areas may have humidity tolerances as tight as ±1%.

Temperature control for zero variations in the wafer patterns

Quality measurement probes in steppers offer stable temperature measurements and safeguard wafers from having variations in dimensions of the patterns induced by temperature fluctuations. Wrong dimensions on wafer patterns adversely affect the overall quality and performance of the semiconductor devices.

Humidity control for optics stability

The wafer stepper relies on precise optics to project and transfer patterns onto the wafer. Any variations in temperature or other environmental conditions can affect the stability and accuracy of these optics.

Barometric pressure control for accurate lithography, and process stability

Measuring barometric pressure is a must for optical precision and accuracy of the lithography process as barometric pressure directly influences the refractive index of air, which in turn affects the optics of the wafer stepper and the wavelength of lithography light.

Focus and depth control

Prevent defocused images by measuring and controlling barometric pressure with fast and accurate measurement instruments.

Maintain chip prober machine ice-free with humidity control

The wafer probing machines identify defective wafers by testing chips. Tests are performed in cold temperatures, up to -40 Celsius ( -40 Fahrenheit) to ensure the chip works in extreme temperatures, for example, if later intended to be used in a vehicle.

The test environment must be kept dry, with the dew point temperature under -40 so that there is no ice deposition on the chip, which would later, when transferred to room temperature, turn to water and collect impurities on the chip.

Vaisala offers accurate dew point probes for the chip prober machines.

Get to know the DMT143

Keep ultra-pure gases ultra-pure

Protect expensive process gases from being contaminated by humidity. Gas quality significantly affects chip quality, as even trace impurities can lead to defects or failures. Moisture can react with certain materials or introduce defects during processes like oxidation.

A rapidly reacting probe will detect any moisture quickly and alert when reaching the set limit.

Get to know the DMT152

Secure differential pressure in a cleanroom

Easily keep the cleanroom differential pressure at ISO 14644 standards with our sensitive probes. With Vaisala's modular Indigo system, you can connect your differential pressure and humidity measurement probes to the same Indigo transmitter.

Get to know our differential pressure probes PDT101 and PDT102.

Vaisala PDT101

Vaisala PDT102

Optimize and measure wet chemistries' concentration in real-time

Semiconductor wafer plants consume tons of chemicals throughout the fab process. Ensure reliability of each chemical and avoid deviations from specification that can result in expensive equipment contamination and wafer scrap.

Fab chemical process monitoring

Expert content and customer cases

Expert article

Boost wafer quality and yield through data-driven real-time slurry management

The composition of the slurry used in the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) processing step greatly impacts wafer quality. Vaisala's inline process refractometers enable real-time monitoring of slurry composition, ensuring batch-to-batch consistency and optimal wafer quality.

Expert article

How to improve humidity measurements in extremely dry environments

Case example of high-purity gases in process industry

Some of the most challenging industrial processes, such as pure gas production or semiconductor fabrication, require very accurate measurements of trace moisture levels.

Learn more

Customer case

Exceeding the high-precision demands of integrated circuit manufacturing: the role of Vaisala’s instruments in cleanrooms Semiconductor manufacturing

The client: China Electronics System Engineering CEFOF and semiconductor manufacturer Beijing Memory Technologies, Inc. (BJMT)
The challenge: create a cleanroom environment with a monitoring system capable of monitoring really tight temperature and relative humidity tolerances
The solution: Vaisala HMT370EX, Vaisala HMT120 and Vaisala HMT330. All perfect for the challenging process conditions delivering superior measurements

Learn more

Customer case

Why Vaisala is a preferred vendor for many semiconductor fabrication plants for qualifying H2O2 concentration in CMP of tungsten

RI measurement is a simple, cost-effective, and accurate technique that provides real-time information on slurry composition, making a refractometer the metrology instrument of choice for many fabrication plants.

Learn more

eGuide

Understand and utilize real-time data in CMP process

Accurate and fast RI and RH measurements for optimized CMP tool performance

Did you know that the refractive index or RI measurement with an inline process refractometer is a safe, cost-effective,
real-time, low-maintenance process monitoring method to accurately determine wet chemical concentrations?

Learn more

Blog

Quality semiconductor products need quality machinery enhanced with the best monitoring equipment

In this blog, we look at Vaisala’s range of humidity and pressure sensors that ensure accurate measurements for manufacturers of the machines used to produce semiconductors.

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Blog

Water is one of the most significant contaminants in semiconductor manufacturing – measure your moisture, humidity and temperature accurately

To avoid issues with product quality and yield, moisture and temperature levels must be monitored extremely carefully in semiconductor manufacturing fabrications.

Learn more

Webinar

Optimize Wafer Quality and Yield with Real-time Data During the CMP Process

Register for this webinar to learn why Vaisala process refractometers have been installed by hundreds of semiconductor manufacturers worldwide. We’ll review the technology behind our measurement solutions and share common applications before sharing sample use cases from fabricators.

Webinar

Ensure your yield in semiconductor and battery manufacturing

Join this webinar and learn about different techniques for best measurement accuracy and quality, practical solutions for maintaining optimal manufacturing conditions in cleanroom and dry room conditions, and how to choose the right product for your application.

Semiconductor manufacturing related products

DMT152 Dewpoint Transmitter for Low Dew Point Measurement in OEM Applications

Contact us

Interested to receive more information on a specific application or product? Drop us a line, and we'll get back to you!