Laser Dithering Device for Handheld Liquid Particle Measurements

We propose a hand-held device that would be capable of measuring particles as small as 20 nm in liquid batches from semiconductor fabrication. The proposed system will overcome the complexities of existing in-line and batch sampling techniques and thus would reduce the operating time and cost of the fabrication process. The device will be small and easily portable and will not come in direct contact with the liquid. In contrast, it will be capable of scanning above the liquid surface at different known depths to thus profile the liquid batch. The Phase I will consist of analytical and experimental work to predict the performance of the system, developing a breadboard measurement system, and to demonstrate it in laboratory-controlled experiments with particles of known size and concentration immersed in liquid batches.