SBIR Phase II: Highly Efficient Exhaust Cleanup Technology for Environmentally Benign Processing

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a novel, integrated reactive abatement model (IRAM) that effectively removes solidifying chemicals from the exhaust effluent of atomic layer deposition (ALD) manufacturing processes. ALD and related manufacturing technologies are widely used in the electronics industry and will be critical for emerging nanotechnology applications. However, a key issue is the emission of reactive, toxic and solidfying chemicals that clog and destroy equipment, requiring frequent cleanup and replacement, and create worker safety and environmental concerns. Objectives of this project include developing suitable abatement chemistries and systems for several important generic ALD processes and deriving generalized IRAM methodology that can be used to produce a module that can be integrated into ALD equipment.