Kalrez® 9100

• Low erosion rate and ultra-low particle generation in oxygen and fluorine-based plasmas

• Excellent resistance to dry process chemistry

• Excellent thermal stability

• Very low outgassing properties and metals content

• Excellent elastic recovery and low compression set properties

Fabs Choose Kalrez® 9100 For ImprovedPerformance Kalrez® 9100 has been reported to significantly improve wafer production in a variety of semiconductor process applications where oxygen and fluorinated plasmas are used during the cleaning cycle. In a number of evaluations at fabline customers, Kalrez® 9100 exhibited less erosion, lower particle generation and longer seal life compared to competitive perfluoroelastomers in both static and dynamic sealing applications.

Case Report #5903 - PM Cycle Extended 3X! at Major US FabLine

• Fab line has extended PM cycle from 60 to 180 days

• No evidence of erosion, leakage, mechanical damage or compression set after 180 days of service

• Equipment Platform - Novellus Concept Two SPEED

• Process - HDPCVD / STI

• Process Chemistry - SiH4, He, O2

• Cleaning Chemistry - NF3 plasma at 4000watts

• Seal Locations - slit valve door, inner gas manifold ring, MESC flange insert, Iso-poppet valve,turbo gate, dome lid

Case Report #6376 - PM Cycle Improved 2X! at Major European FabLine

• Fab line has extended PM cycle from 30,000 to >55,000 pairs of wafers

• No evidence of erosion, mechanical damage, compression set or deformation of the seallip

• Equipment Platform - AppliedMaterials Producer Low-k

• Process - PECVD / Black Diamond

• Process Chemistry - Trimethyl silane (TMS), O2

• Cleaning Chemistry - NF3 plasma via remote plasmasource

• Seal Location - VAT MONOVAT bonded door

Case Report #6441 - PM Target Exceeded at Major European ResearchCenter

• No/minimal evidence of erosion or degradation after processing 5,000 wafers (Figure2)

• Research center is currently conducting testing to determine maximum practical seal life • Equipment Platform - Applied Materials Centura Ultima

• Process - HDPCVD / STI

• Process Chemistry - SiH4, He, O2,

• Cleaning Chemistry - NF3 plasma at 3000watts

• Seal Location - roughing isolation valve poppet seal, top nozzle assembly o-ringseal

Figure 2. Kalrez® 9100 and incumbent seals after processing 5000 wafers. It was the research center's opinion that the Kalrez® 9100 seals could have continued to function beyond the scheduled PM cycle of 5,000 wafers

Case Report #6738 - PM Cycle Extended 3X! at Major US FabLine

• Fab line has extended PM cycle from 400 to 1200 Rf hours

• No evidence of degradation or cracking after 1200 Rf hours ofservice

• Equipment Platform - Lam Research TCP-9600

• Process - Metal Etch and Resist Strip/Ash

• Process Chemistry - Cl2, BCl3, Water Vapor

• Cleaning Chemistry - O2 plasma (cleans ash deposits after every wafer)

• Seal Location - custom seal for slit valve opening

Case Report #10376 - PM Cycle Extended 2X! at Major AP FabLine

• Fab line has extended PM cycle from 27,000 to 54,000 wafers

• No evidence of erosion, cracking or compression set after processing 54,000 wafers

• Equipment Platform - Applied Material® Producer® SE

• Process - PECVD • Process Chemistry - TMS, O2, He, Ar

• Cleaning Chemistry - NF3

• Seal Location - Lid Assembly

Kalrez® 9100 perfluoroelastomer parts are an amber translucent product for edge isolation, ARC coating and PV cell manufacturing processes requiring resistance to fluorine-based plasma including amorphous/microcrystalline silicon thin film deposition. It exhibits very low weight loss and ultra-low particle generation in fluorine-based plasma, e.g., NF3, F2, etc. It also offers excellent resistance to dry process chemistry and has excellent thermal stability, compression set and outgassing properties. Kalrez® 9100 has good mechanical strength properties and is well suited for both static and dynamic sealing applications. A maximum continuous service temperature of 300°C is suggested.

• Gas inlet/orifice seals

• Chamber lid seals

• Isolation valve seals

• "Select" bonded gate valves/slit valve door seals*

• [1]: DuPont proprietary test method; useful temperature range may vary with seal design and application specifics

Plasma can be a very aggressive media depending upon the power and chemistry employed. If not selected properly, elastomers can be eroded at an astonishing rate in plasma, leading to problems during pump-down or causing toxic gasses to be released into the atmosphere. Figure 1 shows the % weight loss (erosion) properties of Kalrez® 9100 versus a typical fluoroelastomer (competitive FKM K7), fluorosilicone (competitive FVMQ E7) and silicone (competitive VMQ T1) product after direct exposure to NF3/Ar (1:3) plasma for 6 hours. Kalrez® 9100 exhibited significantly lower weight loss (erosion) versus the other products tested.

Conventional perfluoroelastomer (FFKM) sealing materials normally contain carbon black and/ormineral fillers. Newer products are either unfilled or formulated with polymeric fillers. Plasma resistance can be significantly different depending on the type of filler used. If the filler has high resistance to plasma, such as BaSO4, TiO2, etc., it can "shield" the polymer to reduce erosion or weight loss, but have the high potential for particle generation by leaving discrete particles behind once the polymer has become etched. Unfilled and polymeric filled products essentially contain no other elements other than carbon, fluorine and oxygen, which can be completely etched to form volatiles, thereby significantly reducing the potential for contamination. Figure 1 shows the relative particle generation of Kalrez® 9100 versus a nano-silica and a metallic oxide filled FFKM product in differentplasmas