Electric Arc Enhancement of Industrial Ultrapure Water Process

A major limitation for semiconductor yield for technologies below O.35.micro.m is the availability of pure, particle-free (particles <0.03.micro.m) water for the cleaning Frocess. Fifty percent of all production yield losses occur from microcontamination. Convenkional filtration is expensive, often ineffective, and requires high-pressure, enersy--intensive pumps. The final step in ultrapurification is de-ionization. De-icnizers do not remove fine particles that were missed by filters, such as bacteria, yeast, viruses, ar.d colloidal silica, which are killers of semiconductors. SUI proposes to develop high-throughput, efficient electrical arc technology for produc ng ultrapure water. The SUI process will decrease average particle size ky an order of magnitude, thus improving yield by more than 25%, which equals a significant unit cost reduction. The arc creates OH radicals, ozone, UV radiation, and change in zeta potential. This oxidizes organic compounds and promotes flocculation of the remaining solids to larger effective particle sizes that can be filtered easily. SUI has other commercial products based upon the arc process. In Phase I, SUI will assemble a laboratory-scale system to create ultrapure water at 1.0 liter per minute. Tap water will be treated and analyzed to determine effectiveness of the approach for eliminating particles. This enhancement technique can be used to significantly improve the quality of ultrapure water while reducing the unit production cost. The primary application is in the manufacture of semiconductor devices to increase production yields by reducing particulate contamination. There is a clear and established need for cleaner deionized/ultrapure water by all semiconductor manufacturers to meet size and weisht requirements of both the military and private sector.