Handheld Liquid-Bourne Particle Counter

Semiconductor processing technology continuously advances to package greater capability into smaller footprints, leading to nanometer feature sizes. Increasingly, nanometer scale impurities can cause fatal circuit flaws. Consequently it is important to monitor semiconductor processing solvents for particle impurities in the 20 nm to 10 micron range. Existing liquid particle detectors function well, and are based on laser-illuminated Mie scattering conducted in a fixed cuvette through which the liquid is pumped. But these require either in-line or batch sampling that can be time consuming and expensive in the typical processing environment, where many containers of corrosive solvents sit in fume hoods for repeated use over a period of days or weeks. We will develop a handheld, non-contact liquid particle counter that will enable more frequent, flexible inspection of process fluids at lower cost. Our detector will achieve comparable detection efficiency to existing systems at higher volumetric sample rate, leading to rapid, flexible, convenient measurement of multiple fluids without the need for regular cleaning or maintenance.